3  1822026'S  7<S' 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF 
CALIFORNIA 
SAN  DIEGO 

V 


UNIVERSITY.OF,  CALIFORNIA   SAN  D  EGC 


3  1822026857029 


Yours  truly, 


I.  HERMANN 


Memoirs  of  a  Veteran 


Who  served  as  a  Private  in  the  60's 
in  the  War  between  the  States 


Personal   Incidents,  Experiences 
and  Observations 


Written  by 

CAPT.  I.  HERMANN 
^ 

Who  Served  in  the  Three  Branches  of  the  Confederate  Army 


ATLANTA.  GA.: 

BYRD  PRINTING  COMPANY 

1911 


Copyright  1911 

By  I.  Hermann 

All  rights  reserved 


INTRODUCTION. 

The  following  reminiscences  after  due  and 
careful  consideration,  are  dedicated  to  the 
young,  who  are  pausing  at  the  portals  of  man- 
hood, as  well  as  womanhood,  and  who  are  con- 
fronted with  illusory  visions  and  representa- 
tions, the  goal  of  which  is  but  seldom  attained, 
even  by  the  fewest  fortunates,  and  then  only  by 
unforeseen  circumstances  and  haphazards,  not 
illustrated  in  the  mapped  out  program  for 
future  welfare,  greatness  and  success. 

Often  the  most  sanguine  persons  have  such 
optimistic  illusions,  which,  unless  most  carefully 
considered  will  lead  them  into  irreparable 
errors.  Even  the  political  changes,  often  times 
necessary  in  the  government  of  men,  are  great 
factors  to  smash  into  fragments  the  best  and 
most  illusory  plans,  and  cast  into  the  shadow, 
for  a  time  being  at  least,  the  kindliest,  philan- 
thropic and  best  intentions  of  individual  efforts, 
until  the  Wheel  of  Fortune  again  turns  in  his 
direction,  casting  a  few  sparks  of  hope  in  his 
ultimate  favor,  and  which  is  seldom  realized. 

If  the  reader  of  the  above  has  been  induced 
to  think  and  carefully  consider,  before  acting 
hastily,  the  writer  feels  that  he  has  accom- 
plished some  good  in  the  current  affairs  of 
human  events. 


CHAPTER  I. 

A  PICTURE. 

Entering  the  post-office  for  my  daily  mail, 
I  noticed  in  the  lobby,  hanging  on  the  wall,  a 
beautiful,  attractive  and  highly  colored  land- 
scape and  manhood  therein  displayed  in  its 
perfection,  gaudily  dressed  in  spotless  uni- 
forms; some  on  horse-back,  some  afoot,  with 
a  carriage  as  erect  and  healthful  demeanor 
that  the  artist  could  undoubtedly  produce;  he 
was  at  his  best,  setting  forth  a  life  of  ease  and 
comfort  that  would  appeal  to  the  youngster, 
patriot  and  careless  individual,  that  therein  is 
a  life  worth  living  for.  Even  the  social  fea- 
tures have  not  been  omitted  where  men  and  offi- 
cers stand  in  good  comradeship.  Peace  and  re- 
pose, and  a  full  dinner  pail  are  the  environment 
of  the  whole  representation. 

It  is  the  advertisement  of  an  army  recruiting 
officer,  who  wants  to  enlist  young,  healthy  men 
for  the  service  of  the  executive  branch  of  our 
National  Government,  to  defend  the  boundaries 
of  our  territory,  to  protect  our  people  against 
the  invasion  of  a  foreign  foe,  to  even  invade 


8  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

a  foreign  land,  to  kill  and  be  killed  at  the  be- 
hest of  the  powers  that  be,  for  an  insult  whether 
imaginary  or  real,  that  probably  could  have 
been  settled  through  better  entente,  or  if  the 
political  atmosphere  would  have  thought  to 
leave  the  matter  of  misunderstanding  or  mis- 
construction to  a  tribunal  of  arbitration. 

The  writer  himself  was  once  a  soldier;  the 
uniform  he  wore  did  not  correspond  with  that 
of  the  picture  above,  it  was  rather  the  reverse 
in  all  its  features.  He  enlisted  in  the  Confed- 
erate service  in  1861,  when  our  homes  were 
invaded,  in  defense  of  our  firesides,  and  the 
Confederate  States  of  America,  who  at  that 
time,  were  an  organized  Government. 

Usually  an  artist,  when  he  represents  a  sub- 
ject on  canvas,  uses  a  dark  background,  to 
bring  forth  in  bright  relief,  the  subject  of  his 
work.  But  I,  not  being  an  artist,  reverse  the 
matter  in  controversy,  and  put  the  bright  side 
first. 

OTHER  PICTURES. 

When  in  1861  the  Southern  States,  known  as 
the  Slave  States,  severed  their  connection  with 
the  Federal  Government  and  formed  a  Confed- 
eracy of  their  own,  which  under  the  Federal 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  9 

Constitution  and  Common  Compact,  they  had  a 
perfect  right  to  do,  they  sent  Commissioners, 
composed  of  John  Forsyth,  Martin  J.  Craw- 
ford and  A.  B.  Boman  to  Washington,  with 
power  to  adjust  in  a  peaceable  manner,  any  dif- 
ferences existing  between  the  Confederate 
Government  and  their  late  associates.  Our 
Government  refrained  from  committing  any 
overt  act,  or  assault,  and  proposed  strictly  to 
act  on  the  defensive,  until  that  Government,  in 
a  most  treacherous  manner,  attempted  to  main- 
tain by  force  of  arms,  property,  then  in  their 
possession  and  belonging  to  the  Confederate 
Government,  and  which  they  had  promised  to 
surrender  or  abandon.  But  on  the  contrary; 
they  sent  a  fleet  loaded  with  provisions,  men 
and  munitions  of  war,  to  hold  and  keep  Port 
Sumter,  in  the  harbor  of  South  Carolina,  con- 
trary to  our  expectations,  and  as  a  menace  to 
our  new  born  Nation. 

Then,  as  now,  there  were  State  troops,  or 
military  organizations,  and  being  on  the  alert, 
under  the  direction  of  our  Government,  and 
under  the  immediate  command  of  General 
Beauregard,  they  fired  on  the  assaulting  fleet  to 
prevent  a  most  flagrant  outrage,  and  after  a 


10  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

fierce  conflict,  the  Fort  was  surrendered,  by  one 
Capt.  Anderson,  then  in  command. 

Abraham  Lincoln,  the  then  President  of  the 
United  States,  called  out  75,000  troops,  which 
was  construed  by  us  as  coercion  on  the  part  of 
the  Federal  Government,  so  as  to  prevent  the 
Confederates  from  carrying  out  peaceably  the 
maintenance  of  a  Government  already  formed. 
To  meet  such  contingency  President  Jefferson 
Davis  called  for  volunteers.  More  men  pre- 
sented themselves  properly  organized  into  Com- 
panies, than  we  had  arms  to  furnish.  Patriot- 
ism ran  high,  and  people  took  up  arms  as  by 
one  common  impulse,  and  formed  themselves 
into  regiments  and  brigades. 

The  Federal  Government,  with  few  excep- 
tions, had  all  the  arsenals  in  their  possession. 
We  were  therefore  not  in  a  condition  to  physi- 
cally withstand  a  very  severe  onslaught,  but 
when  the  Northern  Army  attempted  on  July 
21,  1861,  to  have  a  holiday  in  Eichmond,  the 
Capital  of  the  Confederate  States,  we  taught 
them  a  lesson  at  Manassas,  and  inscribed  a  page 
in  history  for  future  generations  to  contem- 
plate. 


So  Mounting  a  Stump,  I  Proceeded  to 
Introduce  Myself. 


CHAPTER  II. 

The  Federal  army  under  General  Scott  con- 
sisted of  over  60,000  men,  while  that  of  General 
J.  E.  Johnston  was  only  half  that  number. 
Someone  asked  General  Scott,  why  he,  the  hero 
of  Mexico,  had -failed  to  enter  Richmond.  He 
answered,  because  the  boys  that  led  him  into 
Mexico  are  the  very  ones  that  kept  him  out  of 
Richmond. 

The  proclamation  of  Abraham  Lincoln  calling 
out  for  troops  was  responded  to  with  alacrity. 
In  the  meantime,  we  on  the  Confederate  side, 
were  not  asleep;  Washington  County  had  then 
only  one  military  organization  of  infantry 
called  the  Washington  Rifles,  commanded  by 
Captain  Seaborn  Jones,  a  very  gallant  old  gen- 
tleman, who  was  brave  and  patriotic.  The  fol- 
lowing was  a  list  of  the  Company's  membership, 
who,  by  a  unanimous  vote,  offered  their  services 
to  the  newly  formed  Government  to  repel  the 
invader:  (See  Appendix  A.).  Their  services 
were  accepted,  and  they  were  ordered  to  Macon, 
Ga.,  as  a  camp  of  instructions,  and  for  the  for- 
mation of  a  regiment,  of  which  the  following 


12  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

companies  formed  the  contingent — their  names, 
letters,  and  captains.     (See  Appendix  B.) 

J.  N.  Kamsey,  of  Columbus,  Ga.,  was  elected 
Colonel.  "We  were  ordered  to  Pensacola,  Fla., 
for  duty,  and  to  guard  that  port,  and  to  keep 
from  landing  any  troops  by  our  enemy  who 
were  in  possession  of  the  fort,  guarding  the 
entrance  of  that  harbor.  This  was  in  the  month 
of  April,  1861.  From  Pensacola  the  regiment 
was  ordered  to  Northwestern  Virginia.  The 
Confederate  Capital  was  also  changed  from 
Montgomery,  Ala.,  where  the  Confederate  Gov- 
ernment was  organized,  and  Jefferson  Davis 
nominated  its  President,  to  Richmond,  Va. 

About  the  middle  of  May,  the  same  year, 
twenty-one  young  men  of  this  County,  of  which 
the  writer  formed  a  contingent  part,  resolved 
to  join  the  Washington  Rifles,  who  had  just 
preceded  us  on  their  way  to  Virginia.  We  ren- 
dezvoused at  Davisboro,  a  station  on  the  Central 
of  Georgia  Railway.  We  were  all  in  high  spir- 
it on  the  day  of  our  departure.  The  people  of 
the  neighborhood  assembled  to  wish  us  God- 
speed and  a  safe  return.  It  was  a  lovely  day 
and  patriotism  ran  high.  We  promised  a  sat- 
isfactory result  as  soldiers  of  the  Confederate 
States  of  America. 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  13 

At  Richmond,  Va.,  we  were  met  by  Presi- 
dent Davis,  who  came  to  shake  hands  with  the 
"boys  in  gray",  and  speak  words  of  encourage- 
ment. From  Richmond  we  traveled  by  rail  to 
Staunton,  where  we  were  furnished  with  accou- 
trements by  Colonel  Mikel  Harmon,  and  which 
consisted  of  muskets  converted  into  percussion 
cap,  weapons,  from  old  revolutionary  flint  and 
steel  guns,  possessing  a  kicking  power  that 
would  put  "Old  Maude"  to  shame.  My  little 
squad  had  resolved  to  stick  to  one  another 
through  all  emergencies,  to  aid  and  assist  each 
other  and  to  protect  one  another.  Those  resolu- 
tions were  carried  out  to  the  letter  as  long  as 
we  continued  together.  We  still  went  by  rail  to 
Buffalo  Gap,  when  we  had  to  foot  it  over  the 
mountains  to  McDowell,  a  little  village  in  the 
Valley  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  Foot-sore  and  weary 
we  struck  camp.  The  inhabitants  were  hospi- 
table and  kind,  and  we  informed  ourselves 
about  everything  in  that  country,  Laurel  Hill 
being  our  destination. 

An  old  fellow  whose  name  is  Sanders,  a  very 
talkative  gentlemen,  told  us  how,  he  by  himself 
ran  a  dozen  Yankees;  every  one  of  us  became 
interested  as  to  how  he  did  it,  so  he  stated  that 
one  morning  he  went  to  salt  his  sheep  in  the 


14  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

pasture — all  of  a  sudden  there  appeared  a  dozen 
or  more  Yankee  soldiers,  so  he  picked  up  his 
gun,  and  ran  first,  and  they  ran  after  him,  but 
did  not  catch  him.  We  all  felt  pretty  well  sold 
cut  and  had  a  big  laugh,  for  the  gentleman 
demonstrated  his  tale  in  a  very  dramatic  way. 

The  following  morning,  we  concluded  to  hire 
teams  to  continue  our  journey,  which  was  within 
two  days  march  of  our  destination.  We  passed 
Monterey,  another  village  at  the  foot  of  the 
Alleghany  Mountains,  about  twelve  miles  from 
McDowell.  We  crossed  the  Allaghany  into 
Green  Brier  County,  passed  Huttensville, 
another  little  village  at  the  foot  of  Cheat  Moun- 
tain, from  there  to  Beverly,  a  village  about 
twelve  miles  from  Laurel  Hill,  where  we  were 
entertained  with  a  spread,  the  people  having 
heard  of  our  approach.  We  camped  there  that 
night,  and  passed  commandery  resolution  upon 
its  citizens,  and  their  kind  hospitality.  The 
following  day  we  arrived  at  Laurel  Hill,  where 
the  army,  about  3,000  strong,  was  encamped. 
The  boys  were  glad  to  see  us,  and  asked  thou- 
sands of  questions  about  their  home-folks,  all  of 
which  was  answered  as  far  as  possible.  The 
writer  being  a  Frenchman,  a  rather  scarce  arti- 
cle in  those  days  in  this  country,  elicited  no  lit- 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  15 

tie  curiosity  among  the  members  of  the  First 
Georgia  Regiment.  Sitting  in  my  tent,  reading 
and  writing,  at  the  same  time  enjoying  my  pipe, 
I  noted  at  close  intervals  shadows  excluding  the 
light  of  day — looking  for  the  cause,  the  party  or 
parties  instantly  withdrew.  Major  U.  M.  Irwiii 
entered;  I  asked  him  the  cause  for  such  curios- 
ity, he  stated  laughing,  "Well,  I  told  some  fel- 
lows we'd  brought  a  live  Frenchman  with  us. 
I  suppose  those  fellows  want  to  get  a  peep  at 
you. "  I  at  once  got  up,  mounted  an  old  stump, 
and  introduced  myself  to  the  crowd :  *  *  Gentle- 
men, it  seems  that  I  am  eliciting  a  great  deal  of 
curiosity ;  now  all  of  you  will  know  me  as  Isaac 
Hermann,  a  native  Frenchman,  who  came  to 
assist  you  to  fight  the  Yankees."  Having  thus 
made  myself  known,  I  took  the  privilege  to  ask 
those  with  whom  I  came  in  contact  their  names, 
and  what  Company  they  belonged  to,  and  thus 
in  a  short  time  I  knew  every  man  in  the  Reg- 
iment. We  were  now  installed  and  regularly 
enrolled  for  duty. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Laurel  Hill  is  a  plateau  situated  to  the  right 
of  Rich  Mountain,  the  pass  of  which  was  occu- 
pied by  Governor  Wise,  with  a  small  force. 

In  the  early  part  of  July,  General  McClelland, 
in  command  of  the  Federal  troops,  made  a 
demonstration  on  our  front.  Our  position  was 
somewhat  fortified  by  breastworks;  the  enemy 
came  in  close  proximity  to  our  camp  and  kept 
us  on  the  Qui-vive;  their  guns  were  of  long 
range,  while  ours  would'  not  carry  over  fifty 
yards.  Picket  duties  were  performed  by  whole 
companies,  taking  possession  of  the  surround- 
ing, commanding  hills.  Many  shots  hissed  in 
close  proximity,  without  our  being  able  to  locate 
the  direction  from  which  they  came,  and  with- 
out our  even  being  able  to  hear  the  report  of 
the  guns.  Very  little  damage,  however,  was 
done,  except  by  some  stray  ball,  now  and  then. 
It  was  the  writer's  time  to  stand  guard,  not  far 
in  front  of  the  camp,  his  beat  was  alongside 
the  ditches.  In  front  of  me  the  enemy  had 
planted  a  cannon.  The  shots  came  at  regular 
intervals  in  direct  line  with  my  beat,  but  the 
shots  fell  somewhat  short,  by  about  fifty  to  sev- 
enty-five yards.  I  saw  many  hit  the  ground. 


WAE  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  17 

When  Lieutenant  Colonel  Clark,  came  round  on 
a  tour  of  inspection,  I  remarked,  "Colonel,  am 
I  placed  here  as  a  target  to  be  shot  at  by  those 
fellows  yonder.  One  of  their  shots  came  rather 
close  for  comfort. ' '  He  said,  * '  Take  your  beat 
in  the  ditch,  and  when  you  see  the  smoke,  tuck 
your  head  below  the  breastworks " — which  was 
three  and  one-half  feet  deep  the  dirt  drawn 
towards  the  front,  which  protected  me  up  to 
my  shoulders.  For  nearly  two  hours,  until 
relieved,  I  kept  close  watch  for  the  smoke  of 
their  gun,  which  I  approximated  was  about  a 
mile  distant,  and  there  I  learned  that  it  took  the 
report  of  the  cannon  eight  seconds  to  reach  me 
after  seeing  the  smoke,  and  the  whiz  of  the 
(missel  four  seconds  later  still;  this  gave  me 
about  twelve  seconds  to  dodge  the  ball — any- 
how, I  was  very  willing  when  relief  came,  for 
the  other  fellow  to  take  my  place.  In  the  after- 
noon, minnie  balls  rather  multipherous,  were 
hissing  among  the  boys  in  camp,  but  up  to  that 
time  there  was  no  damage  done,  when  a  cavalry- 
man came  in  and  reported  that  some  of  the 
enemy  was  occupying  an  old  log  house  situated 
about  a  half  mile  in  front  of  us,  and  it  was 
there  through  the  cracks  of  that  building  came 
the  missiles  that  made  the  fellows  dodge  about. 
General  Garnett,  our  Commander,  ordered  out 


18  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

two  companies  of  infantry,  who,  taking  a  long 
detour  through  the  woods  placed  themselves  in 
position  to  receive  them  as  they  emerged  from 
the  building,  and  with  two  pieces  of  artillery, 
sent  balls  and  shells  through  their  improvised 
fort.  Out  came  the  "Yanks"  only  to  fall  into 
the  hands  of  those  ready  to  give  them  a  warm 
reception. 

On  that  evening,  three  days  rations  were 
issued.  At  dark  it  commenced  drizzling  rain; 
we  were  ordered  to  strike  camp,  and  we  took  up 
the  line  of  march  to  the  rear,  when  I  learned 
that  the  enemy  had  whipped  out  Governor 
"Wise's  forces  on  Eich  Mountain  and  threatened 
our  rear.  We  marched  the  whole  of  that  night, 
only  to  find  our  retreat  to  Beverly  blockaded 
by  the  enemy  who  had  felled  many  trees  across 
the  road,  the  only  turn-pike  leading  to  that 
place. 

We  had  to  retrace  our  steps  for  several  miles, 
and  take  what  is  known  as  mountain  trail,  lead- 
ing in  a  different  direction,  marching  all  day. 
The  night  again,  which  was  dark  and  dreary 
multiplied  our  misgivings.  The  path  we  fol- 
lowed, was  as  stated,  a  narrow  mountain  path, 
on  the  left  insurmountable  mountains,  while  on 
the  right  very  deep  precipices ;  many  teams  that 


WAR  'BETWEEN  THE  STATES  19 

left  the  rut  on  account  of  the  darkness,  were 
precipitated  down  the  precipices  and  abandoned. 
Thus,  after  two  nights  and  one  day  of  steady 
marching,  we  arrived  at  Carricks'  Ford,  a  ford- 
able  place  on  the  north  fork  of  the  Potomac 
River.  The  water  was  breast-deep,  and  we  went 
into  it  like  ducks,  when  of  a  sudden,  the  Yan- 
kees appeared,  firing  into  our  column.  They 
struck  us  about  and  along  the  wagon  train, 
capturing  the  same,  while  the  advance  column 
stampeded.  We  lost  our  regimental  colors, 
which  were  in  the  baggage  wagon,  in  charge 
of  G.  W.  Kelly,  who  abandoned  it  with  all  the 
Company's  effects,  to  save  himself. 

Colonel  Ramsey,  in  fact  all  our  officers  were  )c 
elected  on  account  of  their  cleverness  at  home. 
This  being  a  strictly  agricultural  country,  the 
men  and  officers  knew  more  about  farming  than 
about  military  tactics.  Colonel  Ramsey  was  an 
eminent  lawyer  of  Columbus,  Georgia.  He 
gave  the  command,  " Georgian,  retreat,"  and 
the  rout  was  complete.  It  was  a  great  mistake 
that  the  Government  did  not  assign  military 
men  to  take  charge  in  active  campaigns ;  many 
blunders  might  have  been  evaded  and  many 
lives  spared  at  the  beginning  of  the  war. 

One  half  of  my  regiment  was  assigned  as  rear 


20  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

guards  and  marched  therefore,  in  the  rear  of  the 
column  behind  the  wagon  train.  We  were  con- 
sequently left  to  take  care  of  ourselves  the  best 
we  could.  General  Garnett  was  killed  in  the 
melee.  Had  we  had  officers  who  understood  any- 
thing about  military  tactics,  these  reminiscences 
might  be  told  differently. 

As  soon  as  we  heard  firing  in  our  front,  we  at 
once  formed  ourselves  into  line  of  battle,  in  a 
small  corn  patch  across  the  stream,  on  our 
immediate  right,  at  the  foot  of  a  high  moun- 
tain. It  seemed  to  have  been  new  ground  and 
the  corn  was  luxuriantly  thick.  The  logs  that 
were  there  were  rolled  into  line,  thus  serving 
as  terraces,  and  also  aff orded  us  splendid  breast- 
works. We  were  hardly  in  position,  when  artil- 
lery troops  appeared  and  crossed  the  ford,  not 
seventy-five  yards  from  where  we  were  in  line, 
seeing  them,  without  being  seen  ourselves. 
Major  Harvey  Thompson,  who  was  in  Com- 
mand of  our  forces,  which  were  not  over  four 
hundred  and  fifty  strong,  seeing  some  men  mak- 
ing ready  to  fire,  gave  orders  not  to  fire,  as  they 
were  our  own  men  crossing  the  stream,  and  thus 
lost  the  opportunity  of  making  himself  famous, 
for  it  proved  to  be  the  enemy's  artillery  in  our 
immediate  front.  Had  he  given  orders  to  fire 


21 


and  charge,  we  could  have  been  on  them  before 
they  could  possibly  have  formed  themselves 
into  battery,  captured  their  guns,  killed  and 
captured  many  of  their  men,  and  would  have 
turned  into  victory  what  proved  to  have  become 
a  disastrous  defeat. 

Thus  being  cut  off  from  our  main  forces,  who 
were  in  full  retreat,  and  fearing  to  be  captured, 
we  climbed  the  mountain  in  our  rear,  expecting 
to  cut  across  in  a  certain  direction,  and  rejoin 
our  forces  some  distance  beyond.  Thus  began 
a  dreary  march  of  three  days  and  four  nights  in 
a  perfect  wilderness,  soaked  to  the  bone  and 
nothing  to  eat,  cutting  our  way  through  the 
heavy  growth  of  laurel  bushes,  we  had  to  take 
it  in  Indian  file,  in  single  column. 

Many  pathetic  instances  came  to  my  obser- 
vation ;  some  reading  testaments,  others  taking 
from  their  breast-pocket,  next  to  their  heart, 
pictures  of  loved  ones,  dropping  tears  of 
despair,  as  they  mournfully  returned  them  to 
their  receptacle.  An  instance  which  impressed 
itself  forcibly  on  my  mind,  was  the  filial  affec- 
tion displayed  between  father  and  son,  and  in 
which  the  writer  put  to  good  use,  the  Biblical 
story  of  King  Solomon,  where  two  women 
claimed  the  same  child,  but  in  this  instance 


22 


neither  wanted  to  claim.  It  was  thus :  Captain 
Jones  found  a  piece  of  tallow  candle  about  one 
inch  long  in  his  haversack,  and  presented  it  to 
his  son,  Weaver,  saying,  "Eat  that,  son,  it  will 
sustain  life;"  "No,  father,  you  eat  it,  I  am 
younger  than  you,  and  stronger,  and  therefore 
can  hold  out  longer."  There  they  stood 
looking  affectionately  at  each  other,  the  Captain 
holding  the  piece  of  candle  between  his  fingers. 
So  I  said, ' '  Captain,  hand  it  to  me,  I  will  divide 
it  for  you. ' '  Having  my  knife  in  hand,  I  cut  it 
lengthwise,  following  the  wick,  giving  each 
half,  and  passing  the  blade  between  my  lips.  It 
was  the  first  taste  of  anything  the  writer  had 
had  in  four  days. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

When  night  overtook  us,  we  had  to  remain  in 
our  track  until  daylight  would  enable  us  to  pro- 
ceed. When  at  about  nine  o'clock  A.  M.  word 
was  passed  up  the  line,  from  mouth  to  mouth — 
"A  Guide!  A  man  and  his  son  who  will  guide 
us  out  of  here."  Then  Major  Thompson,  who 
was  in  front  sent  word  down  the  line  for  the 
men  to  come  up.  The  guides  sent  word  up  the 
line  to  meet  them  half  way,  that  they  were  very 
tired,  so  it  was  arranged  that  Major  Thompson 
met  them  about  center,  where  the  writer  was. 
The  guides  introduced  themselves  as  Messrs. 
Parson,  father  and  son.  The  senior  was  a  man 
of  about  fifty  years,  rather  ungainly  as  to  looks, 
and  somewhat  cross-eyed,  while  his  son  was  a 
strong  athletic  young  man,  about  twenty-three. 
They  said  they  were  trappers,  collecting  furs 
for  the  market.  It  must  be  remarked  that  that 
country  was  perfectly  wild,  and  uninhabited,  for 
during  all  this  long  march  I  had  not  seen  a  sin- 
gle settlement,  but  it  contained  many  wild 
beasts,  such  as  bears,  panthers,  foxes,  deer,  etc. 
He  related  that  a  tall  young  man  by  the  name 
of  Jasper  Stubbs,  belonging  to  Company  E, 
First  Regiment,  Washington  Rifles,  came  to  his 


24  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

quarters  very  early  this  morning,  inquiring  if 
any  soldiers  had  passed  by,  saying  he  found  a 
nook  under  a  projecting  rock  where  he  stood  in 
column  the  night  before,  and  to  protect  himself 
from  dew,  he  lay  down  to  rest,  and  fell  asleep. 
When  he  awoke,  it  was  day  and  he  found  his 
comrades  gone,  and  that  he  was  by  himself.  The 

surface  of  ground  or  rock,  was  a  solid  moss-bed, 

i 

consequently  he  could  not  tell  which  way  our 
tracks  pointed,  and  he  happened  to  take  the 
reverse  course  which  we  went,  and  thus  came 
to  where  the  Parsons  lived.  Stubbs  was  mis- 
sing, thus  proving  that  the  men  '&  story  must  be 
true.  It  must  also  be  remembered  that  the 
majority  of  the  people  in  Western  Virginia 
were  in  sympathy  with  the  enemy,  and  thus  pos- 
sessed of  many  informers  or  spies,  who  would 
give  information  as  to  our  whereabouts  and 
doings. 

A  conference  was  held  among  the  officers  as 
to  what  was  best  to  be  done.  Parson  claimed 
to  be  in  sympathy  with  the  South,  and  he  knew 
that  we  would  not  be  able  to  carry  out  our 
design,  and  that  we  would  all  perish,  so  he  put 
out  to  lead  us  out  of  our  dilemma.  Major 
Thompson  was  for  putting  the  Parsons  under 
arrest,  and  force  them  to  lead  us  in  the  direction 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  25 

we  first  assumed,  or  perish  with  us.  Parsons 
spoke  up  and  said,  "  Gentlemen,  I  am  in  your 
power ;  the  country  through  which  you  propose 
to  travel  is  not  habitable,  I  have  been  raised 
in  these  regions,  and  there  is  not  a  living  soul 
within  forty  miles  in  the  direction  you  propose 
to  go,  and  at  the  rate  you  are  compelled  to 
advance,  you  would  all  perish  to  death,  and 
your  carcasses  left  for  food  to  the  wild  beasts 
of  the  forest."  The  conference  was  divided, 
some  hesitated,  others  were  for  adopting  Major 
Thompson's  plan,  when  the  writer  stepped  for- 
ward, saying,  "Gentlemen,  up  to  now,  I  have 
obeyed  orders,  but  I  for  one,  prefer  to  be  shot 
by  an  enemy's  bullet,  than  to  perish  like  a  cow- 
ard in  this  wild  region. ' '  Captain  Jones  tapped 
me  on  the  shoulder,  remarking;  "Well  spokeny 
Hermann,  those  are  my  sentiments — Company 
E,  About  Face!".  Captain  Crump,  command- 
ing Company  I,  from  Augusta,  Ga.,  followed 
suit,  and  thus  the  whole  column  faced  about, 
ready  to  follow  the  Parsons. 

The  writer  made  the  following  proposition: 
That  Mr.  Parson  and  son  be  disarmed,  for  both 
carried  hunting  rifles ;  that  I  would  follow  them 
within  twenty  paces,  while  the  column  should 
follow  within  two  hundred  yards,  thus  in  case  of 


26  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

treachery  they  would  be  warned  by  report  of  my 
gun,  that  there  is  danger  ahead.  These  precau- 
tions I  deemed  necessary  in  case  of  an  ambush. 
Addressing  myself  to  our  guides,  I  said,  ' '  Gen- 
tlemen, you  occupy  an  enviable  position ;  if  you 
prove  true,  of  which  I  have  no  doubt  myself, 
you'd  be  amply  rewarded,  but  should  you  prove 
otherwise,  your  hide  is  mine,  and  there  is  not 
enough  guns  in  Yankeedom  to  prevent  me  from 
shooting  you."  At  this  point,  a  private  from 
the  Gate  City  Guards,  whose  name  is  Wm. 
Leatherwood,  remarked,  ''You  shall  not  go 
alone,  I  will  accompany  you."  I  thanked  him 
kindly,  saying  I  would  be  glad  if  he  would.  Thus 
we  retraced  our  steps,  following  our  leaders, 
when  after  about  three  miles  march  we  struck 
a  mountain  stream,  in  the  bed  of  which  we 
waded  for  nine  miles,  the  water  varying  from 
knee  to  waist  deep,  running  very  rapidly  over 
mossy,  slippery  rocks,  and  through  gorges  as  if 
the  mountains  were  cut  in  twain  and  hewn 
down.  In  some  places,  the  walls  were  so  high, 
affording  a  narrow  dark  passage,  I  don't  believe 
God's  sun  ever  shone  down  there.  I  was  so 
chilled,  I  felt  myself  freezing  to  death  in  mid 
summer,  for  it  was  about  the  17th  of  July ;  dark- 
ness was  setting  in,  and  I  had  not  seen  the  sun 
that  day,  although  the  sky  was  cloudless,  when 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  27 

to  my  great  relief  we  came  to  a  little  opening  on 
our  left,  the  mountain  receding,  leaving  about  an 
acre  of  level  ground,  with  a  luxuriant  growth  of 
grass.  Our  guides  said  they  lived  within  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  from  there.  I  said,  let  us  rest 
and  wait  for  the  rest  of  the  men.  When  after  a 
little  rest,  I  started  again,  1  was  too  weak  to 
make  the  advance,  although  provisions  were  in 
sight.  I  had  to  be  relieved,  and  some  others 
took  my  place,  while  I  lay  exhausted  on  the 
grass.  Happily  some  of  the  men  had  paper  that 
escaped  humidity;  loading  a  musket  with  wad- 
ding, they  fired  into  a  rotten  stump,  setting  it 
on  fire,  and  by  persistent  blowing,  produced  a 
bright  little  flame,  which  soon  developed  into  a 
large  camp  fire,  around  which  the  boys  dried 
themselves. 

Parson  proved  himself  a  noble,  patriotic 
host.  After  a  couple  of  hours,  he  sent  us  a  large 
pone  of  corn-bread,  baked  in  an  old-fashioned 
oven.  I  received  about  an  inch  square  as  my 
share, — the  sweetest  morsel  that  ever  passed 
my  lips.  It  was  sufficient  to  allay  the  gnawing 
of  my  empty  stomach, — it  had  a  strange  effect 
on  me,  for  every  time  I  would  stand  up,  my 
knees  would  give  way  and  down  I  went  other- 
wise I  felt  no  inconvenience. 


28  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

It  was  a  remarkable  fact  that  every  man  was 
able  to  keep  up  with  our  small  column  and  we 
did  not  lose  a  single  man  up  to  that  time. 


CHAPTER  V. 

The  next  morning  Mr.  Parson  drove  up  two 
nice,  seal  fat  beeves, — to  get  rations  was  a  quick 
performance,  and  the  meat  was  devoured  before 
it  had  time  to  get  any  of  the  animal  heat  out  of 
it,  some  ate  it  raw,  others  stuck  it  on  the  ramrod 
of  their  gun  and  held  it  over  the  fire,  in  the 
meantime  biting  off  great  mouthfulls  while  the 
balance  was  broiling  on  his  improvised  cooking 
utensil.  Mr.  Parson  also  brought  us  some  meal, 
which  being  made  into  dough  was  baked  in  the 
ashes,  and  thus  we  all  had  a  square  meal  and 
some  left  to  carry  in  our  haversack. 

Mr.  Parson  was  tolerably  well  to  do,  he 
owned  some  land,  raised  his  truck,  had  a  small 
apple  orchard,  and  indulged  in  stock-raising. 
He  owned  several  horses  and  some  of  the  offi- 
cers bought  of  him.  The  writer  feeling  badly 
jaded,  also  concluded  he  would  buy  himself  a 
horse,  and  paid  his  price,  $95.00  for  a  horse, 
but  Major  Thompson,  being  of  a  timid  nature, 
was  afraid  that  too  many  horsemen  might 
attract  attention,  refused  to  let  me  ride  by  the 
wagon-road,  so  Mr.  Parson  said  there  was  a 
mountain  path  that  I  could  follow  that  would 


30  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

lead  in  the  big  road  some  few  miles  beyond,  but 
that  I  would  have  to  lead  the  animal  for  about 
a  couple  of  miles,  when  I  would  be  able  to  ride. 
Dr.  Whitaker,  a  worthy  member  of  my  Com- 
pany, and  a  good  companion,  offered  me  his  ser- 
vices to  get  the  animal  over  the  roughest  part 
of  the  route.  I  accepted  his  offer,  and  promised 
that  we  would  ride  by  turns,  so  I  took  the  horse 
by  the  bridle  and  led  him,  Whitaker  following 
behind,  coaxing  him  along.  The  mountain  was 
so  steep  I  had  to  talk  to  keep  the  horse  on  his 
feet,  but  nevertheless  he  slipped  several  times 
and  we  worried  to  get  him  up  again.  We  made 
slow  headway;  the  column  had  advanced,  and 
we  lost  sight  of  it,  and  were  left  alone,  worrying 
with  the  horse,  who  finally  lost  foothold  again, 
and  rolled  over.  The  writer  was  forced  to 
turn  loose  the  bridle  to  keep  from  being  dragged 
along  into  the  hollow.  The  horse  rolled  over 
and  over,  making  every  effort  to  gain  his  feet, 
but  to  no  avail,  until  he  reached  the  bottom, 
where  he  appeared  no  bigger  than  a  goat.  I 
felt  sorry  for  the  poor  animal,  so  I  went  down, 
took  off  his  saddle  and  bridle,  placed  them  on 
a  rock,  and  left  him  to  take  care  of  himself.  I 
rejoined  Dr.  Whitaker.  Relieved  of  our  burden, 
we  followed  the  trail  made  by  the  column. 
About  sunset  we  caught  sight  of  them,  just  as 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  31 

they  crossed  Green  Brier  River,  a  wide,  but 
shallow  stream.  At  that  place  the  water  was 
waist  deep  in  the  center,  running  very  swift,  as 
mountain  streams  do,  over  slippery  moss-cov- 
ered rocks.  When  center  of  the  river,  I  lost 
foot  hold  and  the  stream,  swift  as  it  was,  swept 
me  under,  and  in  my  feeble  condition  I  had  a 
struggle  to  recover  myself.  I  lost  my  rations, 
which  were  swept  down  stream,  a  great  loss  to 
me,  but  undoubtedly  served  as  a  fine  repast  for 
the  fishes  which  abounded  in  those  waters. 

The  column  continued  its  line  of  march,  pas- 
sing a  settlement,  the  first  dwelling  I  had  seen 
in  five  days.  I  called  at  the  gate ;  receiving  no 
answer,  I  walked  into  the  porch;  the  door  being 
ajar,  I  pushed  it  open  and  found  an  empty  room, 
with  the  exception  of  a  wooden  bench,  and  an 
old-fashioned,  home-made  primitive  empty  bed- 
stead, with  cords  serving  to  support  the  bedding 
that  the  owners  had  hurriedly  removed  before 
our  arrival.  I  called  again.  Presently  a  young 
woman  presented  herself.  After  passing  greet- 
ings of  the  day  I  asked,  "Where  are  the  folks?" 
She  said,  "They  are  not  here,"  (the  surround- 
ings indicated  a  hasty  exit).  I  said,  "So  I  see. 
Where  are  they?"  She  said  she  did  not  know, 
undoubtedly  not  willing  to  divulge.  "Who  lives 


32  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

here?"  "Mr.  Snider."  "And  you  don't  know 
where  he  is  ?  "  "  No,  he  heard  you  all  were  com- 
ing, and  not  being  in  sympathy  with  you  all,  he 
left."  "Well,  he  ought  not  to  have  done  so, 
nobody  would  have  harmed  him  or  hurt  a  hair 
on  his  head.  He  is  entitled  to  his  opinion,  as 
long  as  he  does  not  take  up  arms  against  us." 
So  I  recounted  the  accident  that  had  befallen 
me,  and  wanted  to  replenish  my  provisions. 
I  asked  if  I  could  buy  something  to  eat.  She 
said,  "There  are  no  provisions  in  the  house", 
"Well,  I  hope  you  would  not  object  to  my  mak- 
ing a  fire  in  this  fire-place  to  dry  myself."  She 
said  she  had  no  objection.  It  must  be  remem- 
bered that  the  fire-places  in  those  days  were 
very  roomy  indeed.  I  found  wood  on  the  wood- 
pile, and  soon  had  a  roaring  fire.  It  was  late 
in  the  evening,  and  I  intended  to  pass  that  night 
under  shelter,  for  I  was  chilled  to  the  bone.  In 
moving  the  bench  in  front  of  the  fire,  on  which 
to  spread  my  jacket  to  dry,  I  noticed  a  pail  cov- 
ered, and  full  of  fresh  milk,  "Well,  you  can 
sell  me  some  of  that  milk,  can't  you?"  She 
said,  "You  can  have  all  you  want  for  nothing." 
I  thanked  her  and  said  I  wish  I  had  some  meal 
and  I  could  well  make  out.  She  said,  "I  will 
see  if  I  can  find  any",  and  presently  she 
returned  with  sufficient  to  make  myself  a  large 


WAE  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  33 

hoe-cake.  I  baked  the  same  on  an  old  shovel. 
While  it  was  baking  my  clothes  were  drying  on 
my  body,  affording  a  luxuriant  steam  bath.  I 
had  a  tin  cup.  I  drank  some  of  the  milk  and  had 
a  plentiful  repast.  I  handed  her  a  quarter  of  a 
dollar  to  pay  for  the  meal,  which  she  accepted 
with  some  hesitancy.  All  at  once  the  girl  dis- 
appeared and  left  me  in  charge.  It  was  most 
dark,  when  someone  hollowed  at  the  gate ;  recog- 
nizing the  voices,  I  found  them  to  be  two  men 
of  my  Company,  viz.,  G.  A.  Tarbutton  and  J.  A. 
Roberson.  I  met  them  and  invited  them  in. 
To  tell  the  truth,  I  did  not  much  like  the  myste- 
rious surroundings  of  those  premises,  especi- 
ally as  the  girl  asked  me  not  to  divulge  that  she 
let  me  have  some  meal. 

My  comrades  and  self  took  in  the  situation; 
we  conferred  with  one  another  and  agreed  to 
spend  the  night  under  shelter  in  a  warm  room, 
a  luxury  not  enjoyed  in  some  time  and  not  to 
be  abandoned.  They  had  informed  me  that  the 
Column  had  encamped  less  than  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  beyond  and  they  had  returned  to  this  place 
in  search  of  some  Apple  Jack.  We  concluded 
to  take  it  by  turns,  while  two  of  us  are  asleep, 
the  third  will  stand  guard  and  keep  up  the  fire, 
for  the  reader  must  know  that  notwithstanding 


34  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETEKAN 

the  season,  the  nights  were  very  cold  in  those 
mountain  regions  and  were  especially  so  with 
wet  garments  on. 

The  following  morning  my  comrades  left,  but 
before  leaving  we  disposed  of  the  milk  in  the 
pail.  I  remained  in  the  hope  of  again  seeing 
my  charming  hostess,  and  induce  her  to  sell  me 
some  provisions  for  my  journey  along.  I  saw 
in  the  woods,  some  old  hens  scratching,  and  I 
thought  I  might  persuade  her  to  sell  me  one. 
Presently  she  came  with  a  plate  of  ham,  chicken 
and  biscuits  which  she  offered  me.  I  accepted, 
and  not  wishing  to  embarrass  her,  did  not  ask 
any  questions.  Presently,  old  man  Snider 
appeared.  He  was  a  fine  looking  specimen  of 
manhood,  had  a  ruddy  complexion  and  appeared 
physically  Herculean.  After  exchanging  a  lit- 
tle commonplace  talk,  he  followed  me  to  where 
the  boys  camped.  He  was  seemingly  astonished 
to  see  so  many  gentlemen  among  the  so-called 
savage  rebels.  I  asked  him  if  he  could  induce 
his  daughter  to  bake  me  a  chicken,  he  answered, 
"I  suppose  I  could."  "What  will  it  be  worth !" 
"Half  a  dollar"  he  guessed.  I  gave  him  the 
money  and  he  said  he  would  bring  me  the 
chicken,  which  he  did,  and  it  was  a  fine  one,  well 
cooked. 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  35 

'  [*  The  people  in  that  thinly  populated  section  of 
the  country  lived  a  very  primitive  life,  they 
were  mostly  ignorant.  They  did  their  own  work, 
had  plenty  to  live  on,  owned  no  negroes  and 
were  very  kind-hearted  after  you  got  acquainted. 
They  had  strange  notions  about  the  Rebels, 
thinking  we  were  terrible  fellows.  The  origi- 
nal settlers  of  Northwestern  Virginia  were 
Dutch,  a  very  simple  and  hard-working  honest 
people. 

At  about  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  hav- 
ing had  a  long  rest,  we  again  took  up  the  line  of 
march  by  short  stages,  still  under  the  guidance 
of  one  of  our  guides,  and  from  that  day  on,  we 
continued  our  march,  passing  Cheat  Mountain, 
Allegheny  Mountains,  until  finally  we  reached 
McDowell.  Coming  down  Cheat  Mountain,  the 
boys  were  treated  to  a  strange  sight,  especially 
those  who  were  raised  in  a  low  country  and  who 
had  never  seen  any  mountains,  for  in  those  days 
there  was  not  much  traveling  done,  and  the 
majority  of  the  people  did  not  often  venture 
away  from  their  homes. 

The  little  village  of  Huttensville  lies  just  at 
the  foot  of  Cheat  Mountain,  a  mountain  of  great 
altitude.  The  houses  below  us  did  not  appear 
to  be  larger  than  bird  cages,  but  plainly  in 


36  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETEBAN 

view,  first  to  the  right  and  then  to  the  left,  as 
the  pike  would  tack,  the  mountain  being  very 
steep.  It  was  a  lovely  day,  the  sun  had  risen  in 
all  its  splendor,  when  as  if  by  magic,  our  view 
below  us  was  obscured  by  what  seemed  to  be  a 
very  heavy  fog,  and  we  lost  sight  of  the  little 
village.  Still  the  sun  was  shining  warm,  and  as 
we  were  going  down  hill  it  was  easy  going,  and 
as  we  approached  the  village,  the  veil  that  had 
obscured  our  view  lifted  itself  and  the  people 
reported  to  have  experienced  one  of  the  heaviest 
storms  in  their  lives,  the  proof  of  which  we 
noticed  in  t"Ee  mud  and  washouts  which  were 
visible,  while  we  who  were  above  the  clouds  did 
not  receive  a  single  drop. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

At  McDowell  we  formed  a  reunion  with  the 
rest  of  our  forces,  who  in  their  flight  made  a 
long  detour,  passing  through  a  portion  of  Mary- 
land adjoining  that  part  of  West  Virginia.  The 
following  evening  we  had  dress  parade  and  the 
Adjutant's  report  of  those  who  were  missing. 
The  writer  does  not  remember  the  entire  casu- 
alties of  that  affair,  but  found  that  his  little 
squad  of  twenty-one  were  all  present  or  account- 
ed for. 

My  friend,  Eagle,  from  whom  we  hired  teams 
to  carry  us  to  Laurel  Hill  was  present  and  he 
came  to  shake  hands  with  me  while  we  were  in 
line ;  he  was  glad  to  see  me.  A  general  order  to 
disband  the  regiment  for  ten  days  was  read,  in 
order  to  enable  the  men  to  seek  the  needed  rest. 
Mr.  Eagle  came  to  me  at  once,  saying,  "I  take 
care  of  you  and  your  friends,  the  twenty-one 
that  I  hauled  to  Laurel  Hill,  at  my  house.  It 
shall  not  cost  you  a  cent",  a  most  generous  and 
acceptable  offer.  I  called  for  my  Davisboro 
fellows,  and  followed  Mr.  Eagle  to  his  home, 
where  he  entertained  us  in  a  most  substantial 
manner.  He  was  a  man  well-to-do,  an  old  bach- 


38  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

elor.  The  household  consisted  of  himself  and 
two  spinster  sisters,  all  between  forty  and  fifty 
years  of  age ;  and  a  worthy  mother  in  the  sev- 
enties, also  a  brother  who  was  a  harmless  luner 
roving  at  will  and  coming  home  when  he  pleased, 
a  very  inoffensive  creature ;  his  name  was  Chris. 
The  mother,  although  for  years  in  that  country, 
still  could  not  talk  the  English  language.  Un- 
tiringly and  seemingly  in  the  best  of  mood, 
they  performed  their  duties  in  preparing  meals 
for  that  hungry  army.  Chris  got  kinder  mys- 
tified to  see  so  many  strangers  in  the  house.  He 
walked  about  the  premises  all  day,  saying, 
"Whoo-p-e-ee  Soldiers  fighting  against  the 
war",  and  no  matter  what  you  asked  him,  his 
reply  was,  "Whoo-o-p-e-ee,  Soldiers  fighting 
against  the  war-ha-ha-ha-ha!" 

At  the  expiration  of  the  ten  days  leave,  we 
bade  our  host  good-bye.  We  wanted  to  remu- 
nerate him,  at  least  in  part,  for  all  of  his  trouble 
in  our  behalf,  but  he  would  not  receive  the  least 
remuneration,  saying,  "I  am  sorry  I  could  not 
have  done  more."  "We  rendezvoused  in  the  town, 
but  a  great  many  were  missing  on  account  of 
sickness,  the  measles  of  a  very  virulent  nature 
having  broken  out  among  the  men,  and  many 
succumbed  from  the  disease.  We  were  ordered 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  39 

back  to  Monterey  and  went  into  camp.  The  meas- 
les still  continued  to  be  prevalent  and  two  of  my 
Davisboro  comrades  died  of  it,  viz.,  John  Lewis 
and  Noah  Turner,  two  as  clever  boys  as  ever 
were  born.  I  felt  very  sad  over  the  occurrence. 
Their  bodies  were  sent  home  and  they  were 
buried  at  New  Hope  Church. 

General  B.  E.  Lee,  rode  up  one  day,  and  we 
were  ordered  in  line  for  inspection,  he  was  rid- 
ing a  dapple  gray  horse.  He  looked  every  inch 
a  soldier.  His  countenance  had  a  very  paternal 
and  kind  expression.  He  was  clean  shaven, 
with  the  exception  of  a  heavy  iron  gray  mus- 
tache. He  complimented  us  for  our  soldiery 
bearing.  He  told  Captain  Jones  that  he  never 
saw  a  finer  set  of  men.  We  camped  at  Mon- 
terey for  a  month.  During  all  this  time,  when 
the  people  at  home  became  aware  of  our  disas- 
ter, they  at  once  went  to  work  to  make  up  uni- 
forms and  other  kinds  of  wearing  apparels. 
Every  woman  that  could  ply  a  needle  exerted 
herself,  and  before  we  left  Monterey  for  Green 
Brier,  Major  Newman,  who  always  a  useful  and 
patriotic  citizen,  made  his  appearance  among 
the  boys,  with  the  product  of  the  patriotic 
women  of  Washington  County.  Every  man  was 
remembered  munificently,  and  it  is  due  to  the 


40  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

good  women  of  the  county  that  we  were  all  com- 
fortably shod  and  clothed  to  meet  the  rigorous 
climate  of  a  winter  season  in  that  wild  region. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

AY  bile  still  in  earnps  at  Monterey,  the  Four- 
teenth Georgia  Regiment,  on  their  way  to  Hun- 
tersville,  with  a  Company  of  our  County,  under 
command  of  Captain  Bob  Harmon,  encamped 
close  to  us.  The  boys  were  glad  to  meet  and 
intermingled  like  brothers.  A  day  or  so  after 
we  were  ordered  to  move  to  Green  Brier  at  the 
foot  of  the  Allegheny  and  Cheat  Mountains,  the 
enemy  occupying  the  latter,  under  general  Rey- 
nolds. 

Our  picket  lines  extended  some  three  miles 
beyond  our  encampment,  while  the  enemy's  also 
extended  to  several  miles  beyond  their  encamp- 
ment, leaving  a  neutral  space  unoccupied  by 
either  forces.  Often  reconnoitering  parties 
would  meet  beyond  the  pickets  and  exchange 
shots,  and  often  pickets  were  killed  at  their 
posts  by  an  enemy  slipping  up  through  the 
bushes  unaware  to  the  victim.  I  always  consid- 
ered such  as  willful  murder. 

It  became  my  time  to  go  on  picket;  the  post 
Assigned  to  me  was  on  the  banks  of  the  River, 
three  miles  beyond  our  camps.  The  night  before 
one  of  our  men  was  shot  from  across  the  River. 


42  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

Usually  three  men  were  detailed  to  perform 
that  duty,  so  that  they  can  divide  watch  every 
two  hours,  one  to  guard  and  two  to  sleep,  if  such 
was  possible.  On  that  occasion  the  guard  w«o 
doubled  and  six  men  were  detailed,  and  while 
four  lay  on  the  ground  in  blankets,  two  were  on 
the  look-out.  The  post  we  picked  out  was  under 
a  very  large  oak;  in  our  immediate  rear  was  a 
corn  field  the  corn  of  which  was  already  appro- 
priated by  the  cavalry.  The  field  was  sur- 
rounded by  a  low  fence  and  the  boys  at  rest  lay 
in  the  fence  corners.  It  was  a  bright  starlight 
September  night,  no  moon  visible,  but  one  could 
•distinguish  an  object  some  distance  beyond.  I 
was  on  the  watch.  It  was  about  eleven  P.  M., 
ivhen  through  the  still  night,  I  heard  foot-steps 
and  the  breaking  of  corn  stalks.  I  listened 
intently,  and  the  noise  ceased.  Presently  I 
heard  it  again;  being  on  the  alert,  and  so  was 
my  fellow-watchman,  we  cautiously  awoke  the 
men  who  were  happy  in  the  arms  of  Morpheus, 
not  even  dreaming  of  any  danger  besetting 
their  surroundings.  I  whispered  to  them  to  get 
ready  quietly,  that  we  heard  the  approach  of 
someone  walking  in  our  front.  The  guns  which 
were  in  reach  beside  them  were  firmly  grasped. 
We  listened  and  watched,  in  a  stooping  posi- 
tion, when  the  noise  started  again,  yet  a  little 


A  Picket  Shot  While  on  Du'.y,  Nothing 
Short  of  Murder. 


WAE  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  43 

more  pronounced  and  closer.  We  were  ready 
to  do  our  duty.  I  became  impatient  at  the  delay, 
and  not  wishing  to  be  taken  by  surprise,  I 
thought  I  would  surprise  somebody  myself,  so 
took  my  musket  at  a  trail,  crept  along  the  fence 
to  reconnoiter,  while  my  comrades  kept  their 
position.  When  suddenly  appeared  ahead  of 
me  a  white  object,  apparently  a  shirt  bosom.  I 
cocked  my  gun,  but  my  target  disappeared,  and 
I  heard  a  horse  snorting.  On  close  inspection, 
I  found  that  it  was  a  loose  horse  grazing,  and 
what  I  took  for  a  shirt  bosom  was  his  pale  face, 
which  sometimes  showed,  when  erect,  then  dis- 
appeared while  grazing.  I  returned  and  report- 
ed, to  the  great  relief  of  us  all.  Heretofore, 
men  on  guard  at  the  outpost  would  fire  their 
guns  on  hearing  any  unusual  noise  and  thus 
alarming  the  army,  which  at  once  would  put 
itself  in  readiness  for  defense,  only  to  find  out 
that  it  was  a  false  alarm  and  that  they  were 
needlessly  disturbed.  Such  occurrences  hap- 
pened too  often,  therefore  a  general  order  was 
read  that  any  man  that  would  fire  his  gun  need- 
lessly and  without  good  cause,  or  could  not  give 
a  good  reason  for  doing  so  would  be  court-mar- 
tialed and  dealt  with  accordingly.  Therefore, 
the  writer  was  especially  careful  not  to  violate 
these  orders. 


44  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

At  another  time  it  became  again  my  lot  to  go 
on  vidette  duty.  This  time  it  was  three  miles  in 
the  opposite  direction  in  the  rear  of  the  camp 
in  the  Allegheny,  in  a  Northwesterly  direction, 
in  a  perfect  wilderness,  an  undergrowth  of  a 
virgin  forest.  It  was  a  very  gloomy  evening 
the  clouds  being  low.  A  continual  mist  was  fall- 
ing. It  was  in  the  latter  part  of  September.  "We 
were  placed  in  a  depressed  piece  of  ground  sur- 
rounded by  mountains.  The  detail  consisted  of 
Walker  Knight,  Alfred  Barnes  and  myself.  Cor- 
poral Renfroe,  whose  duty  was  to  place  us  in 
position,  gave  us  the  following  instructions  and 
returned  to  camp:  " Divide  your  time  as  usual, 
no  fire  allowed,  shoot  anyone  approaching  with- 
out challenge."  Night  was  falling  fast,  and  in 
a  short  while  there  was  Egyptian  darkness.  We 
could  not  even  see  our  hands  before  our  eyes. 
There  was  a  small  spruce  pine,  the  stem  about 
five  inches  in  diameter,  with  its  limbs  just  above 
our  heads.  We  placed  ourselves  under  it  as  ;i 
protection  from  the  mist,  and  in  case  it  would 
rain.  All  at  once,  we  heard  a  terrible  yell,  just 
such  as  a  wild  cat  might  send  forth,  only  many 
times  louder.  This  was  answered  it  seemed 
like,  from  every  direction.  Barnes  remarked 
"  What  in  the  world  is  that!"  I  said,  "Panthers, 
it  looks  like  the  woods  are  full  of  them."  The 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  45 

panthers,  from  what  we  learned  from  inhabi- 
tants are  dangerous  animals,  and  often  attack 
man,  being  a  feline  species,  they  can  see  in  the 
dark.  I  said,  "There  is  no  sleep  for  us,  let  us 
form  a  triangle,  back  to  back  against  this  tree, 
so  in  case  of  an  attack,  we  are  facing  in  every 
direction."  Not  being  able  to  see,  our  guns  and 
bayonets  were  useless,  and  we  took  our  pocket 
knives  in  hand  in  case  of  an  attack  at  close 
quarters.  The  noise  of  these  beasts  kept  up  a 
regular  chorus  all  night  long,  and  we  would  have 
preferred  to  meet  a  regiment  of  the  enemy  than 
to  be  placed  in  such  a  posit i.on.  We  were  all 
young  and  inexperienced.  I  was  the  oldest,  and 
not  more  than  twenty-three  years  old.  Walker 
Knight  said,  "Boys,  I  can't  stand  it  any  lon- 
ger, I  am  going  back  to  camp."  I  said,  "Wal- 
ker, would  you  leave  your  post  to  be  rourt-mar- 
tialed,  and  reported  as  a  coward?  Then,  you 
would  not  find  the  way  back,  this  dark  night, 
and  be  torn  up  before  you  would  get  there. 
Here,  we  can  protect  each  other."  Occasion- 
ally we  heard  dry  limbs  on  the  ground,  crack, 
as  if  someone  walking  on  them.  This  was  rather 
close  quarters  to  be  comfortable,  especially 
when  one  could  not  see  at  all.  There  we  stood, 
not  a  word  was  spoken  above  a  whisper,  when 
we  heard  a  regular  snarl  close  by,  then  Barnes 


46  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

said,  "What  is  that?"  I  said,  "I  expect  it  is  a 
bear."  All  this  conversation  was  in  the  lowest 
whisper ;  to  tell  the  truth,  it  was  the  worst  night 
I  ever  passed,  and  my  friend  Knight,  even  now 
says  that  he  could  feel  his  hair  on  his  head  stand 
straight  up. 

My  dear  reader,  don't  you  believe  we  were 
glad  when  day  broke  on  us?  It  was  seemingly 
the  longest  night  I  ever  spent,  and  so  say  my 
two  comrades. 

The  country  from  Monterey  to  Cheat  Moun- 
tain was  not  inhabited,  with  the  exception  of  a 
tavern  on  top  of  the  Allegheny,  where  trav- 
elers might  find  refreshments  for  man  and 
beast.  The  enemy  often  harassed  us  with 
scouting  parties,  and  attacking  isolated  posts. 
To  check  these  maneuvres,  we  did  the  same; 
so  one  evening,  Lieutenant  Dawson  of  the 
Twelfth  Georgia  Regiment,  Captain  Willis 
Hawkins '  Company  from  Sumter  County,  and 
which  regiment  formed  a  contingent  part  of  our 
forces  at  Green  Brier  River,  came  to  me  say- 
ing, ' '  Hermann,  I  want  you  tonight. ' '  He  was 
a  fearless  scout,  a  kind  of  warfare  that  suited 
his  taste,  and  he  always  called  on  me  on  such 
occasions.  And  after  my  last  picket  experience, 
I  was  only  too  willing  to  go  with  him,  as  it 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  47 

relieved  me  from  army  duty  the  day  following, 
and  I  preferred  that  kind  of  excitement  to  stand- 
ing guard  duty. 

"VVe  left  at  dark,  and  marched  about  four 
miles,  towards  the  enemy's  camp  to  Cheat  Eiver, 
a  rather  narrow  stream  to  be  a  river.  A  wooden 
bridge  spanned  the  stream.  We  halted  this 
side.  On  our  right  was  a  steep  mountain,  the 
turn  pike  or  road  rounded  it  nearly  at  its  base. 
The  mountain  side  was  covered  with  flat  loose 
rocks  of  all  sizes,  averaging  all  kinds  of  thick- 
ness. By  standing  some  on  their  edge,  and  prop- 
ping them  with  another  rock,  afforded  fine  pro- 
tection against  minnie  balls.  In  this  manner 
we  placed  ourselves  in  position  behind  this  im- 
provised breastworks. 

The  mot  d'ordre  was  not  to  fire  until  the  com- 
mand was  given.  We  were  ten  in  number,  and 
the  understanding  was  to  fire  as  we  lay,  so  as  to 
hit  as  many  as  possible.  At  about  ten  o'clock 
P.  M.  we  heard  the  enemy  crossing  the  bridge, 
their  horses 's  hoofs  were  muffled  so  as  to  make 
a  noiseless  crossing,  and  take  our  pickets  by  sur- 
prise. They  came  within  fifty  yards  of  us  and 
halted  in  Column.  Lieutenant  Dawson  com- 
manded the  man  next  to  him  to  pass  it  up  the 
line  to  make  ready  to  shoot,  when  he  commanded 


48  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

in  a  loud  voice,  "Fire!"  Instantly,  as  per  one 
crack  of  a  musket,  all  of  us  fired,  and  conster- 
nation reigned  among  the  enemy's  ranks;  those 
that  could  get  away  stampeded  across  the  bridge. 
We  did  not  leave  our  position  until  day.  When 
we  saw  the  way  was  clear,  we  gathered  them 
up,  took  care  of  the  wounded  and  buried  the 
dead — several  of  our  shots  were  effective.  On 
the  3rd  of  October,  they  made  an  attack  on  us 
in  full  force,  and  while  they  drove  in  our  pick- 
etc,  we  had  ample  time  to  prepare  to  give  them 
a  warm  reception. 

The  following  is  a  description  of  the  battle 
ground  and  a  description  of  our  forces: 

On  the  extreme  right,  in  an  open  meadow, 
not  far  from  the  banks  of  the  river,  was  the 
First  Georgia  Regiment,  lying  flat  on  the 
grass ;  to  the  immediate  left  and  rear  was  a  bat- 
tery of  four  guns,  on  a  mount  immediately  con- 
fronting the  turn  pike,  and  fortified  by  breast- 
works, and  supported  by  the  Forty-fourth  Vir- 
ginia Regiment,  commanded  by  Colonel  Scott; 
further  to  left,  across  the  road  was  a  masked 
battery,  with  abatis  in  front,  Captain  Ander- 
son commanding,  and  supported  by  the  Third 
Arkansas  Regiment  and  the  Twelfth  Georgia 
Regiment,  commanded  by  Colonels  Rusk  and 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  49 

Johnston  respectively.  As  the  enemy  came 
down  the  turn  pike,  the  battery  on  our  left,  com- 
manding that  position,  opened  on  them,  the 
enemy  from  across  the  river  responded  with 
alacrity,  and  there  was  a  regular  artillery  duel 
continuously.  Their  infantry  filed  to  their  left, 
extending  their  line  beyond  that  of  the  First 
Georgia,  they  followed  the  edge  of  the  stream 
at  the  foot  of  the  mountain.  We  detached  two 
Companies  from  the  Regiment  further  to  our 
right,  to  extend  our  line.  They  were  not  more 
than  two  hundred  yards  in  front.  The  balance 
of  the  regiment  lay  low  in  its  position ;  the  order 
was  to  shoot  low,  and  not  before  we  could  see 
the  white  of  their  eyes. 

The  enemy  would  fire  on  us  continually,  but 
the  balls  went  over  us  and  did  no  damage. 
While  maneuvring  thus  on  our  right,  they  made 
a  vigorous  attack  on  Anderson's  battery,  but 
were  repulsed  with  heavy  loss.  Late  in  the 
afternoon  they  withdrew.  Our  casualties  were 
very  small,  and  that  of  the  enemy  considerable. 

Colonel  Ramsey,  who,  early  that  morning  went 
out  on  an  inspection  tour,  dismounted  for  some 
cause,  his  horse  came  into  camp  without  a  rider, 
and  we  gave  him  up  for  lost,  but  later,  a  little 
before  dark,  he  came  in  camp,  to  the  great 


50  MEMOIBS  OF  A  VETEKAN 

rejoicing  of  the  regiment,  for  we  all  loved  him. 
General  Henry  E.  Jackson  was  our  commander 
at  that  time,  and  soon  afterwards  was  trans- 
ferred South. 

The  enemy  had  all  the  advantage  by  the  supe- 
riority of  their  arms,  while  ours  were  muzzle 
loaders,  carrying  balls  but  a  very  short  dis- 
tance; theirs  were  long  range,  hence  we  could 
not  reach  them  only  at  close  quarters.  A  very 
amusing  instant  was  had  during  their  desultory 
firing.  The  air  was  full  of  a  strange  noise;  it 
did  not  sound  like  the  hiss  of  a  minnie-ball,  nor 
like  that  of  a  cannon  ball.  It  was  clearly  audi- 
ble all  along  the  line  of  the  First  Georgia;  the 
boys  could  not  help  tucking  their  heads.  The 
next  day  some  of  the  men  picked  up  a  ram  rod 
at  the  base  of  a  tree  where  it  struck  broadside, 
and  curved  into  a  half  circle.  It  was  unlike  any 
we  had,  and  undoubtedly  the  fellow  forgot  to 
draw  it  out  of  the  gun,  fired  it  at  us,  and  this 
was  the  strange  sound  we  heard  which  made  us 
dodge.  A  few  nights  later,  a  very  dark  night, 
we  sent  out  a  strong  detachment,  under  Com- 
mand of  Colonel  Talliaferro  to  cut  off  their 
pickets,  which  extended  to  Slavins  Cabin  (an 
old  abandoned  log  house).  To  cross  the  river 
we  put  wagons  in  the  run ;  a  twelve  inch  plank 
connected  the  wagons  and  served  as  a  bridge. 


WAB  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  51 

On  the  other  side  of  the  river  was  a  torch  bearer, 
holding  his  torch  so  that  the  men  could  see  how 
to  cross.  The  torch  blinded  me,  and  instead  of 
looking  ahead,  I  looked  down.  It  seemed  that 
the  men  with  the  torch  shifted  the  light,  casting 
the  shadow  of  a  connecting  plank  to  the  right, 
when  instead  of  stepping  on  the  plank,  I  stepped 
on  the  shadow,  and  down  in  the  water  I  went 
(rather  a  cold  bath  in  October)  and  before 
morning,  my  clothing  was  actually  frozen.  In 
crossing  Cheat  River  Bridge,  the  road  tacked  to 
the  left,  making  a  sudden  turn,  which  ran  par- 
allel with  the  same  road  under  it.  The  head  of 
the  column  having  reached  there,  the  rear  think- 
ing them  to  be  enemies,  fired  into  them.  Haply 
no  one  was  hurt  before  the  mistake  was  discov- 
ered, but  the  enemy  got  notice  of  our  approach 
by  the  firing,  and  had  withdrawn,  so  the  expe- 
dition was  for  naught.  We  were  back  in  camp 
about  eight  o'clock  the  following  morning. 

At  the  latter  end  of  the  month  Colonel 
Edward  Johnson  concluded  to  attack  General 
Reynolds  in  his  stronghold  on  Cheat  Mountain. 

The  Third  Arkansas  Regiment,  under  com- 
mand of  Colonel  Rusk,  was  detached  and  sent  to 
the  rear,  taking  a  long  detour  a  couple  of  days 
ahead,  and  making  demonstrations,  while  the 


52  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

main  force  would  attack  them  in  front.  Colonel 
Busk  was  to  give  the  signal  for  attack.  Early 
in  the  night  we  sent  out  a  large  scouting  party 
to  attack  their  pickets,  and  drive  them  in.  Lieu- 
tenant Dawson  was  in  command.  Early  that 
day  we  started  with  all  the  forces  up  Cheat 
Mountain,  a  march  of  twelve  miles.  During  the 
progress  of  our  march  the  advance  guard  hav- 
ing performed  what  was  assigned  them  to  do, 
returned  by  a  settlement  road  running  paral- 
lel with  the  turn  pike  for  some  distance,  when  of 
a  sudden,  balls  were  hissing  among  us  and  some 
of  the  men  were  hit.  The  fire  was  returned  at 
once,  and  flanker  drawn  out  whose  duty  it  was 
to  march  "on  the  flank  of  the  column,  some 
twenty  paces  by  its  side,  keeping  a  sharp  look- 
out. I  mistook  the  order,  and  went  down  into 
the  woods  as  a  scout,  the  firing  still  going  ©n, 
and  I  was  caught  between  them  both.  I  hugged 
close  to  the  ground  keeping  a  sharp  look-out  to 
my  right.  When  I  recognized  the  Company's 
uniform,  and  some  of  my  own  men,  I  hollowed 
at  them  to  stop  firing,  that  they  were  shooting 
our  own  men,  when  they  hollowed,  "  Hurrah  for 
Jeff  Davis,"  when  from  above,  Colonel  John- 
son responded,  "Damn  lies,  boys,  pop  it  to 
them, ' '  when  Weaver  Jones  stuck  a  white  hand- 
kerchief on  his  bayonet  and  -the  firing  ceased. 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  53 

Sergeant  P.  E.  Talliaferro  was  hit  in  the  breast 
by  a  spent  ball.  Weaver  had  a  lock  of  his  hair 
just  above  his  ear  cut  off  as  though  it  had  been 
shaved  off.  One  man  was  wounded  and  bled  to 
death,  another  was  wounded  and  recovered. 
Such  mistakes  happened  often  in  our  lines  for 
the  lack  of  sound  military  knowledge. 

The  man  that  bled  to  death  was  from  the 
Dahlonega  Guards.  He  said  while  dying,  that 
he  would  not  mind  being  killed  by  an  enemy's 
bullet,  but  to  be  killed  by  his  own  friends  is  too 
bad.  Everything  was  done  that  could  be  done 
for  the  poor  fellow,  but  of  no  avail. 

The  column  advanced  to  a  plateau,  overlook- 
ing the  enemy's  camp.  We  placed  our  guns  in 
battery,  waiting  for  the  Eusk  signal,  which  was 
never  given;  we  waited  until  four  o'clock  P.  M. 
and  retraced  our  steps  without  firing  a  gun. 
We  saw  their  lines  of  fortification  and  their 
flags  flying  from  a  bastion,  but  not  a  soul  was 
visible.  We  thought  Eeynolds  had  given  us  the 
slip  and  that  we  would  find  him  in  our  rear  and 
in  our  camp  before  we  could  get  back,  so  we 
double  quicked  at  a  fox  trot,  until  we  reached 
our  quarters  in  the  early  part  of  the  night. 

Colonel  Eusk  came  in  two  days  afterward, 
and  reported  that  his  venture  was  impracticable. 


54  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

Cold  winter  was  approaching  with  rapid  strides 
and  rations  were  not  to  the  entire  satisfaction 
of  our  men.  The  beef  that  was  issued  to  us, 
although  very  fine,  had  become  a  monotonous 
diet,  and  the  men  longed  for  something  else, 
they  had  become  satiated  with  it,  so  I  proposed 
to  Captain  Jones  that  if  he  would  report  me 
accounted  for  in  his  report,  that  I  would  go 
over  to  Monterey  and  McDowell  on  a  foraging 
expedition,  and  bring  provisions  for  the  Com- 
pany. He  said  he  would,  but  I  must  not  get 
him  into  trouble,  for  the  orders  were  that  no 
permits  be  issued  for  anyone  to  leave  camp  and 
that  all  passes,  if  any  be  issued,  must  be  coun- 
tersigned by  Captain  Anderson,  who  was 
appointed  Commander  of  the  post.  We  still 
were  without  tents  for  they  were  captured  by 
the  enemy  at  Carricks  Ford,  and  we  sheltered 
ourselves  the  best  we  could  with  the  blankets 
we  had  received  from  home.  The  snow  had 
fallen  during  the  night  to  the  depth  of  eight 
inches,  and  it  was  a  strange  sight  to  see  the 
whole  camp  snowed  under,  (literally  speak- 
ing). When  morning  approached,  the  writer 
while  not  asleep,  was  not  entirely  aroused.  He 
lay  there  under  his  blanket,  a  gentle  perspira- 
tion was  oozing  from  every  pore  of  his  skin, 
when  suddenly,  he  aroused  himself,  and  rose  up. 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  55^ 

Not  a  man  was  to  be  seen,  the  hillocks  of  snow, 
however,  showed  where  they  lay,  so  I  hollowed, 
"look  at  the  snow."  Like  jumping  out  of  the 
graves,  the  men  pounced  up  in  a  jiffy,  they  were 
wrestling  and  snowballing  and  rubbing  each 
other  with  it.  After,  having  performed  all  the 
duties  devolving  upon  me  that  afternoon,  I 
started  up  the  Allegheny  where  some  members 
of  my  Company  with  others,  were  detailed, 
building  winter  quarters.  Every  carpenter  in 
the  whole  command  was  detailed  for  that 
purpose* 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

When  some  three  miles  beyond  camps,  I 
noted  a  little  smoke  arising  as  I  approached.  I 
noted  that  it  was  the  outpost.  My  cap  was  cov- 
ered with  an  oil  cloth,  and  I  had  an  overcoat 
with  a  cape,  such  as  officers  wore;  hence  the 
guard  could  not  tell  whether  I  was  a  private, 
corporal  or  a  general.  I  noticed  that  they  had 
seen  me  approach.  One  of  them  advanced  to  the 
road  to  challenge  me,  but  I  spoke  first.  I  knew 
•it  was  against  the  -orders  to  have  a  fire  at  the 
outpost  on  vidette  duty  so  I  said,  "Who  told  you 
to  have  a  fire?  Put  out  that  fire,  sirs,  don't  you 
know  it  is  strictly  prohibited?" — "What  is  your 
name — what  Company  do  you  belong  to,  and 
what  is  your  regiment?"  all  of  which  was 
answered.  I  took  my  little  note  book  and  pen- 
cil, and  made  an  entry,  or  at  least  made  a  bluff 
in  this  direction,  and  said,  "You'll  hear  from  me 
again."  I  had  the  poor  fellow  scared  pretty 
badly,  and  they  never  even  made  any  demand 
on  me  to  find  out  who  I  was.  They  belonged 
to  Colonel  Scott's  regiments.  The  bluff  worked 
like  a  charm,  and  I  marched  on.  When  about 
six  miles  from  camp,  I  was  pretty  tired,  walk- 
ing in  the  snow  and  up-hill.  I  saw  General 


WAK  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  57 

» 

Henry  R.  Jackson,  and  Major  B.  L.  Blum,  com- 
ing along  in  a  jersey  wagon.  The  General 
asked  me  where  I  was  going, — it  was  my  time 
to  get  a  little  scared.  I  answered  that  I  was 
going  on  top  the  Allegheny  where  they  built 
winter  quarters.  "Get  in  the  wagon,  you  can 
ride,  we  are  going  that  way. ' '  I  thanked  them ; 
undoubtedly  the  General  thought  that  I  was 
detailed  to  go  there  and  to  assist  in  that  work. 
This  is  the  last  I  saw  of  General  Jackson  in 
that  country. 

Among  the  men  I  found  Tom  Tyson,  Richard 
Hines,  William  Roberson  (surnamed  "Cru- 
soe"). I  spent  the  night  with  them  in  a  cabin 
they  had  built  and  the  following  morning  I 
took  an  early  start  down  the  mountain  toward 
Monterey.  It  had  continued  to  snow  all  the 
night  and  it  lay  to  the  depth  of  twelve  inches. 
I  could  only  follow  the  road  by  the  opening  dis- 
tance of  the  tree  tops,  and  which  sometimes  was 
misleading.  I  passed  the  half-way  house, 
known  as  the  tavern,  about  9  o'clock  A:  M. 
Four  hundred  yards  beyond,  going  in  an  oblique 
direction  at  an  angle  of  about  45  degrees,  I  saw 
a  large  bear  going  through  the  woods ;  he  was 
a  fine  specimen,  his  fur  was  as  black  as  coal.  I 
approximate  his  size  as  about  between  three 
hundred  and  four  hundred  pounds.  He  turned 


58  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

his  head  and  looked  at  me  and  stopped.  I  at 
once  halted,  bringing  my  musket  to  a  trail.  I 
was  afraid  to  fire  for  fear  of  missing  my  mark, 
my  musket  being  inaccurate,  so  I  reserved  my 
fire  for  closer  quarters,  the  bear  being  at  least 
fifty  yards  from  me,  and  he  followed  his  course 
in  a  walk.  I  was  surprised  and  said  to  myself, 
— '  *  Old  fellow,  if  you  let  me  alone,  I  surely  will 
not  bother  you. ' ' 

I  watched  him  'till  he  was  out  of  my  sight. 
My  reason  for  not  shooting  him  was  two-fold; 
first,  I  was  afraid  I  might  miss  him,  and  my  gun 
being  a  muzzle  loader,  the  distance  between  us 
was  too  short,  and  he  would  have  been  on  me 
before  I  could  have  reloaded,  so  I  reserved  my 
fire,  expecting  to  get  in  closer  proximity.  I  was 
agreeably  surprised  when  he  continued  his  jour- 
ney. When  I  came  to  Monterey  that  afternoon, 
I  told  some  of  its  citizens  what  a  narrow  escape 
I  had.  They  smiled  and  said  " Bears  seldom 
attack  human,  unless  in  very  great  extremities, 
but  I  did  well  not  to  have  shot  unless  I  was  sure 
that  I  would  have  killed  him,  for  a  wounded 
bear  would  stop  the  flow  of  blood  with  his  fur, 
by  tapping  himself  on  the  wound,  and  face 
his  antagonist,  and  I  could  have  been  sure  he 
would  have  gotten  the  best  of  me." 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  59 

From  Monterey  I  went  over  to  McDowell, 
fourteen  miles,  to  see  my  friend  Eagle  and  his 
brother-in-law,  Sanders,  he  that  made  the 
twelve  Yankees  run  by  running  in  front  of 
them.  I  stated  my  business  and  invoked  their 
assistance,  which  they  cheerfully  extended.  In 
about  three  days  we  had  about  as  much  as  a 
four  horse  team  could  pull. 

Provisions  sold  cheap.  One  could  buy  a  fine 
turkey  for  fifty  cents,  a  chicken  for  fifteen  to 
twenty  cents,  butter  twelve  and  one-half  cents 
and  everything  else  in  proportion.  Apples  were 
given  me  for  the  gathering  of  them.  Bacon 
and  hams  for  seyen  to  eight  cents  per  pound,  the 
finest  cured  I  ever  tasted. 

The  people  in  these  regions  lived  bountifully, 
and  always  had  an  abundance  to  spare.  Mr. 
Eagle  furnished  the  team  and  accompanied  me 
to  camp,  free  of  charge.  Money  was  a  scarce 
article  at  that  time  among  the  boys;  the  gov- 
ernment was  several  months  in  arrear  with  our 
pay,  but  we  expected  to  be  paid  off  daily,  so 
Mr.  Eagle  said  he  would  be  responsible  to  the 
parties  that  furnished  the  provisions,  and  the 
Company  could  pay  him  when  we  got  our 
money;  he  was  one  of  the  most  liberal  and 


60  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

patriotic  men  that  it  was  my  pleasure  to  meet 
during  the  war. 

Four  days  later,  Captain  Jones  received  our 
money.  I  kept  a  record  of  all  the  provisions 
furnished  to  each  man,  and  the  captain  deduct- 
ed the  amount  from  each.  I  wrote  Eagle  to 
come  up  and  get  his  money;  he  came,  and 
received  every  cent  that  was  due  him. 

But  I  must  not  omit  an  incident  that  occurred 
when  near  our  camp  with  the  load  of  provisions. 
I  had  to  pass  hard  by  the  Twelfth  Georgia  Reg- 
iment, which  was  camped  on  the  side  of  the 
turnpike,  when  some  of  the  men  who  were  as 
anxious  for  a  change  of  diet  as  we  were,  came  to 
me  and  proposed  to  buy  some  of  my  provisions. 
I  stated  that  they  were  sold  and  belonged  to 
Company  E,  First  Regiment,  and  that  I  could 
not  dispose  of  them.  Some  Smart- Aleks,  such 
as  one  may  find  among  any  gathering  of  men, 
proposed  to  charge  the  wagon  and  appropriate 
its  contents  by  force.  Seeing  trouble  ahead,  I 
drew  my  pistol,  when  about  a  dozen  men  ran  out 
with  their  guns.  Eagle  turned  pale,  he  thought 
his  time  had  come,  when  a  Lieutenant  inter- 
fered, asking  the  cause  of  the  disturbance, 
which  I  stated.  He  said,  "Men,  none  of  that, 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  61 

back  with  those  guns. ' '  He  mounted  the  wagon 
and  accompanied  us  to  my  camp,  which  was  a 
few  hundred  yards  beyond. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Once  later,  I  was  called  out  for  fatigue  duty. 
I  said,  "Corporal,  what  is  to  be  done?"  He 
answered,  "To  cut  wood  for  the  blacksmith 
shop."  I  replied,  "You  had  better  get  some- 
one else  who  knows  how,  I  never  cut  a  stick  in 
my  life,"  he  said,  "You  are  not  too  old  to  learn 
how."  This  was  conclusive,  so  he  furnished  me 
with  an  axe,  and  we  marched  into  the  woods, 
and  he  said  he  would  be  back  directly  wi'th  a 
wagon  to  get  the  wood  and  he  left  me.  I  was 
looking  about  me  to  find  a  tree,  not  too  large, 
one  that  I  thought  I  could  manage.  I  spied  a 
sugar  maple  about  eight  inches  in  diameter.  I 
sent  my  axe  into  it,  but  did  not  take  my  cut 
large  enough  to  reach  the  center,  when  it  came 
down  to  a  feather  edge  and  I  did  not  have  judg- 
ment enough  to  know  how  to  enlarge  my  cut  by 
cutting  from  above,  so  I  started  a  new  cut  from 
the  right,  another  from  the  left,  bringing  the 
center  to  a  pivot  of  about  three  inches  in  diam- 
eter, as  solid  as  the  Eock  of  Gibraltar;  finally, 
by  continuous  hacking,  I  brought  it  to  a  point 
where  I  could  push  it  back  and  forth.  The 
momentum  finally  broke  the  center,  but  in  place 
of  falling,  the  top  lodged  in  a  neighboring  tree, 


WAB  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  63 

and  I  could  not  dislodge  it.  I  worked  hard,  the 
perspiration  ran  down  my  face,  my  hands  were 
lacerated,  I  finally  got  mad,  and  sent  the  axe 
a-glimmering,  and  it  slid  under  the  snow.  After 
awhile  my  corporal  came  for  the  wood;  "Where 
is  the  wood?"  I  showed  him  the  tree;  "Is  that 
all  you  have  done?"  I  could  not  restrain  any 
longer,  I  said,  "Confound  you,  I  told  you  I  did 
not  know  anything  about  cutting  wood." 
"Where  is  the  axe?",  we  looked  everywhere 
but  could  not  find  it ;  it  must  have  slid  under  the 
snow  and  left  no  trace,  so  he  arrested  me  and 
conducted  me  before  Colonel  Edward  Johnson, 
a  West  Pointer,  in  command  of  the  post.  He 
was  at  his  desk  writing;  turning  to  face  us,  he 
addressed  himself  to  me,  who  stood  there,  cap 
in  hand,  while  the  Corporal  stood  there  with 
his  kept  on  his  head.  "What  can  I  do  for  you?" 
I  said,  looking  at  the  Corporal.  "He  has  me 
under  arrest  and  brought  me  here."  Looking 
at  the  corporal  the  Colonel  said,  "Pull  off  your 
hat,  sir,  when  you  enter  officers'  quarters."  (I 
would  not  have  taken  a  dollar  for  that).  The 
Corporal  pulled  off  his  cap.  "What  have  you 
arrested  him  for?"  The  Corporal  answered 
that  I  was  regularly  detailed  to  cut  wood  for  the 
blacksmith  shop,  and  that  I  failed  to  do  my  duty, 
and  lost  the  axe  he  furnished  me.  "Why  did 


64  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

you  not  cut  the  wood?"  said  the  Colonel.  "I 
tried,"  said  I,  "I  told  him  that  I  had  never  cut 
any  wood  and  did  not  know  how ;  where  I  came 
from  there  are  no  woods.  Look  at  my  hands." 
They  were  badly  blistered  and  lacerated.  The 
Colonel  cursed  out  the  Corporal  as  an  imbecile, 
for  not  getting  someone  who  was  used  to  such 
work.  I  told  the  Colonel  how  hard  I  had  tried 
and  what  I  had  done.  The  Colonel  smiled  and 
said,  "What  did  you  do  with  the  axe?"; 
"When  the  tree  lodged  and  I  could  not  budge 
it,  I  got  mad  and  made  a  swing  or  two  with  the 
axe,  and  let  her  slide;  it  must  have  slid  under 
the  snow,  and  we  could  not  find  it."  "What 
have  you  done  for  a  living?"  "After  I  quit 
school,  I  clerked  in  a  store. "  "Can  you  write? ' ' 
"Oh,  yes!"  "Let  me  see."  "My  hand  is  too 
sore  and  hurt  now."  "Well,  come  around  to- 
morrow, I  may  get  you  a  job  here." 

Next  day  I  called  at  his  quarters,  and  he  put 
me  to  copying  some  documents  and  reports, 
which  I  did  to  his  satisfaction.  I  had  warm 
quarters  and  was  relieved  from  camp  duties  for 
a  little  while. 

This  brings  us  to  about  the  middle  of  Decem- 
ber, and  we  were  ordered  to  Winchester.  Col- 
onel Johnson  with  his  Regiment  and  a  small 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  65 

force,  was  left  in  charge  of  the  Winter  Quarters 
on  the  Allegheny,  so  I  took  leave  of  him  to  join 
my  Company. 

Colonel  Johnson,  while  a  little  brusk  in  his 
demeanor,  was  a  clever,  social  gentleman,  and 
a  good  fighter,  which  he  proved  to  be  when  the 
enemy  made  a  night  descent  on  him  and  took 
him  by  surprise.  He  rallied  his  men,  barefooted 
in  the  snow,  knee-deep,  thrashed  out  the  enemy 
and  held  the  fort ;  he  was  promoted  to  General 
and  was  afterwards  known  as  the  Allegheny 
Johnson. 

My  Command  having  preceded  me,  I  went  tc 
Staunton,  where  I  met  J.  T.  Youngblood,  Rob- 
ert Parnelle  and  others  from  my  Company.  I 
also  met  Lieutenant  B.  D.  Evans  of  my  Com- 
pany, just  returned  from  a  visit  from  home. 
We  took  the  stage  coach  from  Stanton  to  Win- 
chester through  Kanawah  Valley.  We  passed 
Woodstock,  Strasburg,  New  Market,  Middle- 
town,  and  arrived  at  Winchester  in  due  time. 
General  T.  J.  Jackson  in  command,  we  had  a 
splendid  camp  about  a  mile  to  the  left  of  the 
city.  The  weather  had  greatly  moderated  and 
the  snow  was  melting.  The  regiment  had  re- 
ceived tents  to  which  we  built  chimneys  with  flat 
rocks  that  were  abundant  all  around  us.  The 


66  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

flour  barrels  served  as  chimney  stacks,  and  we 
were  comfortable;  rations  were  also  good  and 
plentiful,  but  hardly  were  we  installed  when  we 
received  orders  to  strike  camps.  The  men  were 
greatly  disappointed ;  we  expected  to  be  permit- 
ted to  spend  winter  there,  We  took  up  the  line 
of  march  late  in  the  evening,  marched  all  night 
and  struck  Bath  early  in  the  morning,  took  the 
enemy  by  surprise  while  they  were  fixing  their 
morning  meal,  which  they  left,  and  the  boys 
regaled  .  themselves.  The  Commissary  and 
Quartermaster  also  left  a  good  supply  behind 
in  their  rapid  flight,  and  we  appropriated  many 
provisions,  shoes,  blankets  and  overcoats ;  from 
Bath  we  marched  to  Hancock,  whipped  out  a 
.small  force  of  the  enemy,  and  continued  our 
force  to  Romney  where  we  struck  camps. 
Bomney  is  a  small  town  situated  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Potomac  River.  General  Jackson 
demanded  the  surrender  of  the  place,  the 
enemy  refused,  so  he  ordered  the  non-combat- 
ants to  leave,  as  he  would  bombard  the  town. 
Bringing  up  a  large  cannon  which  we  called 
"Long  Tom"  owing  to  its  size,  he  fired  one 
round  and  ordered  us  to  fall  back.  All  this  was 
during  Christmas  week. 

On  our  return  it  turned  very  cold  and  sleeted ; 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  67 

the  road  became  slick  and  frozen,  and  not  being 
prepared  for  the  emergency,  I  saw  mules, 
horses  and  men  take  some  of  the  hardest  falls, 
as  we  retraced  our  steps,  the  road  being  down 
grade.  This  short  campaign  was  a  success  an4 
accomplished  all  it  intended  from  a  military 
standpoint,  although  we  lost  many  men  from 
exposure;  pneumonia  was  prevalent  among 
many  of  our  men.  We  have  now  returned  to 
Winchester.  The  writer  himself,  at  that  time, 
thought  that  this  campaign  was  at  a  great  sac- 
rifice of  lives  from  hardships  and  exposures,  but 
later  on,  learned  that  it  was  intended  as  a  check 
to  enable  General  Lee  in  handling  his  forces 
against  an  overwhelming  force  of  the  enemy, 
and  being  still  reinforced  and  whose  battle  cry 
still  was  "On  to  Richmond."  It  was  for  this 
reason  that  General  "Stonewall"  Jackson 
threatened  Washington  via  Eomney  and  the 
enemy  had  .to  recall  their  reinforcements 
intended  against  General  Lee  to  protect  Wash- 
ington. 


The  men  from  the  Southern  States  were 
used  to  such  rigorous  climate  and  many  of  eur 
men  had  to  succumb  from  exposure.  My  Com- 
pany lost  three  men  from  pneumonia,  viz:  — 
Sam  and  Richard  Hines,  two  splendid  soldiers, 


68  MEMORIES  OP  A  VETERAN 

and  brothers,  and  Lorenzo  Medlock.  The  writer 
also  was  incapacitated.  There  were  no  prepa- 
rations in  Winchester  for  such  contingencies, 
so  the  churches  were  used  as  hospitals.  The 
men  were  packed  in  the  pews  wrapped  in  their 
blankets,  others  were  lying  on  the  nasty  humid 
floor,  for  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  streets 
in  Winchester  were  perfect  lobbies  of  dirt  and 
snow  tramped  over  by  men,  horses  and  vehicles. 
While  there  in  that  condition  I  had  the  good 
fortune  to  be  noted  by  one  of  my  regiment,  he 
was  tall  and  of  herculean  form,  his  name  was 
Griswold,  and  while  he  and  myself  on  a  previ- 
ous occasion  had  some  misunderstanding  and 
therefore  not  on  speaking  terms,  he  came  to  me 
and  extended  his  hand,  saying:  "Let  us  be 
friends,  we  have  hard  times  enough  without 
adding  to  it."  I  was  too  sick  to  talk,  but 
extended  my  hand,  in  token  of  having  buried  the 
hatchet.  He  asked  me  if  he  could  do  anything 
for  me.  I  shook  my  head  and  shut  my  eyes.  I 
was  very  weak.  When  I  opened  them  he  was 
gone.  During  the  day  he  returned,  saying: 
"I  found  a  better  place  for  you  at  a  private 
house.  He  wrapped  me  in  my  blanket  and 
carried  me  on  his  shoulders  a  distance  of  over 
three  blocks.  Mrs.  Mandelbawm,  the  lady  of  the 
house,  had  a  nice  comfortable  room  prepared 


WAB  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  69 

for  me,  and  Griswold  waited  on  me  like  a 
brother,  he  was  a  powerful  man,  but  very  over- 
bearing at  times,  but  had  a  good  heart.  Mr. 
Mandelbawm  sent  their  family  physician,  who 
prescribed  for  me.  He  pronounced  me  very 
sick,  he  did  not  know  how  it  might  terminate. 
It  took  all  his  efforts  and  my  determination  to 
get  well  after  three  weeks  struggling  to  accom- 
plish this  end.  My  friend  came  to  see  me  daily 
when  off  duty. 

The  regiment's  term  of  enlistment  will  soon 
have  expired,  for  we  only  enlisted  for  one  year. 
The  regiment  received  marching  order,  not  being 
strong  enough  for  duty.  Through  the  recom- 
mendation of  my  doctor  and  regimental  color, 
I  was  discharged  and  sent  home.  The  regiment 
had  been  ordered  to  Tennessee,  but  owing  to  a 
wreck  on  the  road  they  were  disbanded  at 
Petersburg,  Va.,  and  the  boys  arrived  home  ten 
days  later  than  I. 

In  getting  my  transportation  the  Quarter- 
master asked  me  to  deliver  a  package  to  General 
Beaureguard  as  I  would  pass  via  Manassas 
Junction.  When  I  arrived  I  inquired  far  his 
quarters,  when  I  was  informed  that  he  had  left 
for  Centreville,  I  followed  to  that  place,  when 
I  was  told  he  had  left  for  Richmond.  Arriving 


70  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

at  Richmond  I  went  at  once  to  the  Executive 
Department  in  quest  of  him  and  should  I  fail  to 
find  him,  would  leave  my  package  there,  which 

I  did.    This  was  on  Saturday  evening,  I  had  not 
a  copper  in  money  with  me,  but  I  had  my  pay 
roll ;  going  at  once  to  the  Treasury  Department, 
to  my  utter  consternation,  I  found  it  closed.    A 
very  affable  gentlemen  informed  me  that  the 
office  was  closed  until  Monday  morning.    I  said, 

II  What  am  I  to  do,  I  have  not  a  cent  of  money  in 
my  pocket  and  no  baggage,"  for  at  that  time 
hotels  had  adopted  a  rule  that  guests  without 
baggage  would   have  to   pay  in   advance.    I 
remarked  that  I  could  not  stay  out  in  the  streets, 
so  the  gentleman  pulled  a  $10.00  bill  out  of  his 
pocket  and  handed  it  to  me  saying,  "Will  that 
do  you  until  Monday  morning,  8  o'clock?  When 
the  office  will  be  open,  everything  will  be  all 
right. ' '    I  thanked  him  very  kindly.    Monday  I 
presented  my  bill  which  was  over  six  months  in 
arrears.    They  paid  it  at  once  in  Alabama  State 
bills,  a  twenty-five  cent  silver  and  two  cents  cop- 
pers.   I  did  not  question  the  correctness  of  their 
calculation.   I  took  the  money  and  went  in  quest 
of  my  friend  who  so  kindly  advanced  me  the 
$10.00.     I  found  him  sitting  at  a  desk.     He 
was  very  busy.    I  handed  him  a  $10.00  bill  and 
again  thanked  him  for  his  kindness ;  he  refused 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  71 

it  saying:  "Never  mind,  you  are  a  long  ways 
from  home  and  may  need  it. "  I  replied  that  I 
had  enough  to  make  out  without  it,  I  said  that 
I  appreciated  it,  but  didn't  like  to  take  presents 
from  strangers;  he  said,  "We  are  no  stran- 
gers, my  name  is  Juda  P.  Benjamin."  Mr. 
Benjamin  was  at  that  time  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  of  the  Confederate  States.  He  was 
an  eminent  lawyer  from  the  State  of  Louisi- 
ana, he  became  later  on  Secretary  of  War,  and 
when  Lee  surrendered  he  escaped  to  England 
to  avoid  the  wrath  of  the  Federal  Officials  who 
offered  a  premium  for  his  capture.  He  became 
Queen's  Consul  in  England  and  his  reputation 
became  international.  No  American  who  was 
stranded  ever  appealed  to  him  in  vain,  espe- 
cially those  from  the  South.  It  is  said  of  him 
that  he  gave  away  fortunes  in  charity. 

I  came  back  to  Georgia  among  my  friends 
who  were  proud  to  see  me.  Having  no  near 
relations,  such  as  father  or  mother,  sisters  or 
brothers  to  welcome  me,  as  had  my  comrades, 
my  friends  all  over  the  County  took  pride  in 
performing  that  duty,  and  thus  ended  my  first 
year's  experience  as  a  soldier  in  the  war  be- 
tween the  States. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Notwithstanding  the  arduous  campaign  and 
severe  hardships  endured  during  my  first  year's 
service,  I  did  not  feel  the  least  depressed  in 
spirit  or  patriotism.  On  the  contrary  the  arms 
of  the  Confederacy  in  the  main  had  proven  them- 
selves very  successful  in  repelling  the  enemy's 
attacks  and  forcing  that  government  continu- 
ally to  call  new  levees  to  crush  our  forces  in  the 
field. 

Those  measures  on  the  part  of  our  adversa- 
ries appealed  to  every  patriot  at  home  and 
regardless  of  hardships  already  endured.  Hence 
the  First  Georgia  Regiment  although  disbanded 
as  an  organization,  the  rank  and  file  had  suffi- 
cient pluck  to  re-enter  the  service  for  the  period 
of  the  war  regardless  as  to  how  long  it  might 
last.  Possessing  some  hard  endured  experience, 
many  of  them  organized  commands  of  their 
own,  or  joined  other  commands  as  subalterns  or 
commissioned  officers. 

The  following  is  a  roll  of  promotion  from 
the  members  of  the  Washington  Rifles  as  first 
organized. — See  Appendix  D. 

The  foregoing  record  proves  that  the  Wash- 
ington Rifles  were  composed  of  men  capable  of 
handling  forces  and  that  it  had  furnished  men 


WAS  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  73 

and  officers  in  every  branch  of  service  in  the 
Confederate  States  Army,  and  had  been  active 
after  their  return  home  from  their  first  year's 
experience  in  raising  no  little  army  themselves, 
and  what  I  have  recorded  of  the  "Washington 
Rifles  may  be  written  of  every  Company  com- 
posing the  First  Georgia  Regiment. 

The  State  of  Georgia  furnished  more  men 
than  any  other  State,  and  Washington  County 
furnished  more  Companies  than  any  other 
County  in  the  State. 

Such  men  cannot  be  denominated  as  rebels 
or  traitors,  epithets  that  our  enemies  would  fain 
have  heaped  upon  us.  If  the  true  history  of 
the  United  States  as  written  before  the  war  and 
adopted  in  every  school-house  in  the  land, 
North,  South,  East  and  West,  did  not  demon- 
strate them  as  patriots,  ready  and  willing  to 
sacrifice  all  but  honor  on  the  altar  of  their 
country. 

On  the  first  of  May,  1862,  Sergeant  E.  P. 
Howell  came  to  me  saying:  " Herman,  how 
would  you  like  to  help  me  make  up  an  artillery 
Company?  I  have  a  relative  in  South  Carolina 
who  is  a  West  Pointer  and  understands  that 
branch  of  the  service.  The  Yankees  are  mak- 
ing tremendous  efforts  for  new  levees  and  we, 
of  the  South,  have  to  meet  them. "  "All  right, ' ' 


74  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

said  I,  "I  am  tired  after  my  experience  with 
infantry,  having  gone  through  with  'Stone- 
wall's'  foot  cavalry  in  his  Romney  campaign." 
The  following  day  we  made  a  tour  in  the  neigh- 
borhood and  enlisted  a  few  of  our  old  comrades 
in  our  enterprise.  We  put  a  notice  in  the  Her- 
ald, a  weekly  paper  edited  by  J.  M.  G.  Medlock, 
that  on  the  10th  day  of  May  we  would  meet  in 
Sandersville  for  organization,  and  then  and 
there  we  formed  an  artillery  Company  that 
was  to  be  known  as  the  Sam  Eobinson  Artillery 
Company,  in  honor  of  an  old  and  venerable 
citizen  of  our  County. 

General  Eobinson,  in  appreciation  of  our  hav- 
ing named  the  Company  in  his  honor  presented 
the  organization  with  $1,000.00,  which  money 
was  applied  in  uniforming  us. 

The  following  members  formed  the  composite 
of  said  Company,  and  Robert  Martin,  known 
as  "Bob  Martin"  from  Barnwell,  S.  C.,  was 
elected  Captain.  See  appendix  E. 

The  writer  was  appointed  bugler  with  rank 
of  Sergeant. 

That  night  after  supper,  it  being  moon-light, 
Mr.  A.  J.  Linville  a  North  Carolinian,  a  school 
teacher  boarding  at  my  lodging  proposed  to 
me  as  I  performed  on  the  flute,  he  being  a  vio- 
linist, to  have  some  music  on  the  water.  He 


WAB  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  75 

then  explained  that  water  is  a  conductor  of 
sound  and  that  one  could  hear  playing  on  it  for 
a  long  distance  and  music  would  sound  a  great 
deal  sweeter  and  more  melodious  than  on  land. 
The  Ogeechee  River  ran  within  a  couple  of  hun- 
dred yards  from  the  house.  There  was  on  the 
bank  and  close  to  the  bridge  a  party  of  gentle- 
men fishing,  having  a  large  camp  fire  and  pre- 
pared to  have  a  fish-fry,  so  Linville  and  myself 
took  a  boat  that  was  moored  above  the  bridge 
and  quietly,  unbeknown  to  anybody  paddled 
about  1  1-4  mile  up  stream,  expecting  to  float 
down  with  the  current.  Although  it  was  the 
month  of  May  the  night  was  chilly  enough  for 
an  overcoat.  Linville  and  myself  struck  up  a 
tune,  allowing  the  boat  to  float  along  with  the 
current,  the  oar  laying  across  my  lap.  Every- 
thing was  lovely,  the  moon  was  shining  bright 
and  I  enjoyed  the  novelty  of  the  surroundings 
and  the  music,  when  an  over-hanging  limb  of  a* 
tree  struck  me  on  the  neck.  Wishing  to  disen- 
gage myself,  I  gave  it  a  shove,  and  away  went 
the  boat  from  under  me  and  I  fell  backwards 
into  the  stream  in  12  feet  of  water.  To  gain  the 
surface  I  had  to  do  some  hard  kicking,  my  boots 
having  filled  with  water  and  my  heavy  overcoat 
kept  me  weighted  down. 


76  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAX 

When  reaching  the  surface  after  a  hard  strug- 
gle my  first  observation  was  for  the  boat  which 
was  about  50  yards  below,  Linville  swinging  to 
a  limb.  I  called  him  to  meet  me,  and  he  replied 
that  he  had  no  oar,  that  I  kicked  it  out  of  the 
boat.  The  banks  on  each  side  were  steep  and 
my  effecting  a  landing  was  rather  slim.  I  spied 
a  small  bush  half-way  up  the  embankment,  I 
made  for  it  perfectly  exhausted,  I  grabbed  it, 
the  bank  was  too  steep  and  slippery  to  enable 
me  to  land,  so  I  held  on  and  rested  and  man- 
aged to  disembarrass  myself  of  the  overcoat 
and  told  Linville  to  hold  on,  that  I  was  coming. 
I  could  not  get  my  boots  off,  so  I  made  an  extra 
effort  to  reach  him  anyhow,  as  the  current  would 
assist  me  by  being  in  my  favor,  so  I  launched 
oft.  I  reached  the  boat  perfectly  worn  out.  I 
do  not  think  I  could  have  made  another  stroke. 
After  a  little  breathing  spell  and  by  a  tremen- 
dous effort  I  hoisted  myself  into  the  boat,  but 
not  before  it  dipped  some  water. 

On  our  way  I  picked  up  my  discarded  over- 
coat and  a  piece  of  a  limb  which  served  as  a 
rudder  to  guide  the  boat  to  a  successful  land- 
ing, and  thus  ended  the  music  on  the  water. 

We  went  to  the  house,  changed  our  clothes 
and  returned,  mingling  with  the  fishermen  and 
kept  all  the  fun  we  had  to  ourselves.  They  all 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  77 

made  a  fine  catch  and  there  was  fish  a  plenty 
for  all.  Linville  and  myself  enjoyed  the  repast, 
as  the  physical  exercise  we  had  just  undergone 
sharpened  our  appetite. 

A  few  days  later  we  rendezvoued  at  Sanders- 
ville,  and  the  Company  left  for  Savannah,  our 
camp  of  instruction.  Under  the  tuition  of 
Jacobi,  leader  of  the  band  of  the  32nd  Georgia, 
W.  H.  Harrison's  Regiment,  I  soon  learned  all 
the  calls  and  commands. 

While  thus  engaged  the  Company  had  a  gross 
misunderstanding  with  Capt.  Martin,  who, 
before  coming  in  contact  with  the  members  of 
his  command,  was  an  entire  stranger  to  them. 
Most  all  were  ignorant  of  military  duties,  but 
strictly  honest  and  patriotic  citizens.  Capt. 
Martin  was  a  strict  disciplinarian  and  putting 
the  screws  on  rather  a  little  too  tight  placed  him 
into  disfavor  with  the  men,  who  petitioned  him 
to  resign,  otherwise  they  would  prefer  charges 
against  him.  Thus  matters  stood  when  I 
returned  to  camp.  Martin  was  tried  before  a 
board  and  exonerated.  To  revenge  himself 
upon  those  who  were  active  in  his  persecution 
he  reduced  those  that  were  non-commissioned 
officers  to  ranks  and  appointed  others  in  their 
stead;  and  to  make  matters  more  galling, 
appointed  a  substitute,  a  mercenary  as  orderly 


78  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

Sergeant  over  a  Company  of  volunteers,  who 
solely  served  their  country  through  patriotism. 
Ned  Irwin,  when  elevated  to  the  position  he 
was,  proved  himself  a  worthy  tool  in  the  hand 
of  his  promoter.  Men  could  not  express  an 
opinion  on  hardly  any  subject  without  being 
reported,  he  would  sneak  about  in  the  dark, 
crouch  behind  a  tent  evesdropping  and  make 
report  as  unfavorably  as  he  could  to  bring  the 
individual  into  disfavor.  He  made  himself  so 
obnoxious  that  he  did  not  have  a  friend  in  the 
whole  Company,  and  when  he  died  at  Yazoo 
City,  you  could  hear  freely  expressed  the 
following  sentiment:  "Poor  old  Ned  is  dead, 
thank  God  this  saves  some  good  men  of  having 
to  kill  him/' 

When  I  returned  to  camp  I  presented  myself 
before  Capt.  Martin  who  examined  me  as  to  my 
proficiency  as  a  bugler.  I  said,  * '  Captain,  there 
has  been  quite  some  changes  made  since  I  have 
been  away,"  he  said,  "Yes,  the  men  have 
accused  me  of  speculating  on  their  rations."  I 
said  I  was  very  sorry  that  such  a  state  of  affairs 
existed  among  officers  and  men,  where  harmony 
ought  to  prevail;  he  said  he  insisted  that  those 
charges  be  substantiated  and  demanded  a  court 
martial,  who  on  hearing  the  facts  cleared  him 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  79 

of  any  criminality,  so  he  punished  the  leaders 
•f  the  gang  by  reducing  them  to  ranks. 

Capt.  Martin,  however,  proved  himself  a 
capable  officer  in  handling  artillery  and  the  men 
finally  came  to  love  him  on  account  of  his  effi- 
ciency and  fairness. 

While  in  camp  of  instructions  in  Savannah, 
the  Government  furnished  us  with  six  brass 
pieces  (2  Howitzer  and  4  Napoleon)  with  the 
necessary  accoutrement  and  horses  and  we  were 
ordered  to  Bryan  County  in  support  of  Fort 
McAllister.  We  went  into  camp  by  the  side  of 
the  Ogeechee  River,  about  three  miles  this  side 
of  the  Fort,  which  camp  we  named  "Camp 
McAllister. ' '  The  fort  was  an  earth  structure, 
strongly  constructed  with  redoubts  and  para- 
pets. The  magazine  underground  was  strongly 
protected  by  heavy  timbers,  and  so  was  what 
we  called  bomb-proof,  for  the  men  not  actually 
engaged,  but  who  were  ready  to  relieve  those 
who  were,  or  became  disabled  under  fire  and 
exposure,  and  compelled  to  be  at  their  post  of 
duty.  Short  reliefs  were  necessary,  for  it  is 
hard  work  to  manage  heavy  seige  guns,  but 
the  heaviest  in  that  fort  were  only  of  forty-two 
caliber.  For  some  time  nothing  of  importance 
worth  to  chronicle  happened ;  the  boys  attended 


80  MEMOBIES  OP  A  VETEKAN 

to  their  regular  camp  life  duty,  roll  calls  and 
drills;  those  off  duty  went  fishing  along  the 
river  banks. 

The  country  surrounding  was  low,  flat, 
marshy  and  replete  with  malarial  fever,  so 
that  we  had  to  remove  our  camp  several  miles 
further  up  the  river,  but  still  within  close  call 
of  the  fort.  This  new  camp  was  called  ' '  Camp 
Arnold,"  in  honor  of  Doctor  Arnold,  on  whose 
land  we  stationed.  One  morning  I  was  ordered 
to  blow  the  call,  only  one  man,  Sergeant  Cox, 
reported.  All  the  rest  of  the  command  were 
down  with  chills  and  fever.  There  was  no  qui- 
nine to  be  had,  owing  to  the  blockade,  such 
medicines  being  considered  by  our  adversaries 
as  contraband  of  war.  Men  tried  every  remedy 
possible,  even  drank  cottonseed  tea,  at  the  sug- 
gestion of  a  country  physician  by  the  name  of 
Dr.  Turner,  who  pronounced  it  as  a  good  sub- 
stitute (it  was  in  taste  if  not  in  efficiency).  The 
writer  was  also  stricken  with  the  disease,  and 
was  sent  to  Whitesville  Hospital,  about  thirty 
miles  from  Savannah  on  the  Central  of  Georgia 
Railroad.  Dr.  Whitehead  was  in  charge  of  the 
same,  and  Madam  Cazzier  and  her  daughter 
from  New  Orleans  were  matrons.  During  my 
fever  spells  I  would  rave  sometimes  and  not 
having  been  in  this  country  over  three  years  in 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  81 

all,  my  friends  predominated  over  the  English 
language.  Madam  Cazzier,  who  spoke  French 
also,  took  a  great  interest  in  me;  in  fact,  she 
was  strictly  interested  in  all  the  patients,  but 
she  seemed  to  be  a  little  partial  to  myself,  and 
spent  some  time  by  my  bedside  when  the  fever 
was  off,  and  would  tell  me  what  I  said  during 
my  delirium.  She  nursed  me  and  devoted  on  me 
a  motherly  care,  for  which  I  shall  always 
remain  thankful.  My  recuperation  was  rapid, 
and  I  soon  felt  myself  again. 

One  morning  it  was  announced  that  General 
Mercer  of  Savannah,  and  the  Board  of  Inspec- 
tors were  to  come  on  a  round  of  inspection, 
when  we  heard  heavy  firing,  the  sounds  coming 
from  the  east.  Presently  we  heard  that  the 
enemy  with  a  large  fleet  was  attacking  Fort 
McAllister.  General  Mercer  and  his  Board  had 
come  up  from  Savannah  on  a  special  train.  He 
called  for  all  convalescent,  able  to  fight  to  vol- 
unteer to  go  to  the  front.  I  presented  myself; 
I  was  the  only  one.  We  cut  loose  the  locomotive 
and  one  car  and  went  flying  to  Savannah  at 
the  rate  of  a  mile  a  minute,  crossed  the  City  in 
a  buss  at  full  speed  to  the  Gulf  Depot,  now 
known  as  the  S.  F.  &  W.,  just  in  time  to  board 
the  train  to  Way  Station,  twelve  miles  from 
Savannah.  An  ambulance  carried  us  to  the 


8'2  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

Fort;  the  whole  distance  from  the  hospital  to 
the  Fort  was  about  fifty-two  miles.  We  changed 
conveyances  three  times  and  arrived  at  desti- 
nation in  less  than  two  hours.  Capt.  Martin  was 
in  charge  of  a  Mortar  Detachment,  so  I 
reported  to  him  for  duty,  but  my  place  had  been 
taken,  and  the  detachment  was  complete,  hence 
he  had  no  use  for  me.  I  learned  that  Major 
Galley,  the  Commander  of  the  Fort,  had  been 
killed  by  the  first  shot  from  the  enemy's  guns, 
which  penetrated  a  sixteen  foot  embankment, 
knocked  off  the  left  hand  trunnion  of  a  thirty- 
two  pounder,  and  struck  the  Major  above  the 
ear,  and  took  off  the  top  of  his  head,  so  Captain 
Anderson,  of  the  Savannah  Blues,  took  com- 
mand. Captain  Martin  sent  me  up  the  Eiver  to 
a  band  about  half  a  mile  to  the  rear,  which  posi- 
tion placed  me  at  a  triangle  point  to  the  Fort 
and  the  gun  boats.  I  was  instructed  to  notice 
the  effect  of  our  shots  on  the  enemy's  boats.  I 
kept  tally  sheets  as  to  the  hits  between  the  bel- 
ligerent points.  From  my  observation  I  counted 
seventy-five  hits  by  the  guns  of  the  Fort,  and 
one  hundred  and  seventy-five  hits  by  those  of 
the  boats,  which  raised  a  cloud  of  dust  equal  to 
an  explosion  of  a  mine.  Their  caliber  being 
three  hundred  and  seventy-five  pounders,  and 
fifteen  inches  in  diameter,  while  our  shots  merely 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  83 

made  a  bright  spot  where  they  struck  the  heavy 
armoured  vessels  and  ricochet  beyond.  While 
thus  observing  I  noted  a  strange  move  of  one  of 
the  boats,  suddenly  I  saw  an  immense  flash,  and 
a  splash  in  the  river  a  couple  of  yards  in  front 
of  me.  The  water  being  very  clear,  we  noted 
a  large  projective  at  the  bottom  of  the  stream, 
evidently  aimed  at  me,  as  it  was  in  direct  line, 
as  I  sat  on  my  horse;  undoubtedly  they  must 
have  taken  me  for  a  commanding  officer  and 
thus  paid  me  their  res —  I  mean  disrespect. 

A  concourse  of  people  in  the  neighborhood 
gathered  to  observe  this  unequal  artillery  duel 
of  five  armoured  gun  boats  and  eleven  wooden 
mortar  boats  hidden  behind  a  point  below  the 
Fort,  sending  their  projectiles  like  a  shower  of 
aerolites  into  and  around  the  Fort.  Undaunted, 
the  boys  stood  by  their  guns,  having  the  satis- 
faction to  notice  one  of  the  armoured  vessels 
break  their  line  and  floating  down  the  River, 
evidently  having  been  struck  in  some  vital  part, 
and  thus  placed  hors  de  combat.  This  bom- 
bardment continued  from  early  morning  until 
near  sundown,  when  the  enemy  withdrew,  we 
giving  them  parting  shots  as  they  steamed 
down  to  their  blockade  station,  lying  in  wait  for 
the  Nashville,  a  blockade  runner,  who  plyed 
between  Nassau,  and  any  Confederate  Port, 


84  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

which  it  might  enter  with  goods,  easily  disposed 
of  at  remunerative  prices.  The  Fort  was  badly 
dilapidated,  our  breast-works  had  been  blown 
to  atoms,  the  guns  exposed  to  plain  view,  all 
port  holes  demolished,  the  barracks  injured  by 
fire,  which  the  boys  extinguished  while  the  bat- 
tle was  raging ;  in  fact,  had  a  cyclone  struck  the 
Fort  in  its  full  majestic  force,  it  could  not  have 
been  worse.  However,  that  night  we  pressed 
into  service  all  the  negroes  on  the  rice  planta- 
tions. Spades,  shovels  and  pick  axes  were 
handled  with  alacrity;  baskets,  bags  and  bar- 
rels were  filled,  the  enfeebled  portions  of  the 
Fort  were  reinforced  by  working  like  Trojans 
all  night  long,  and  the  Fort  was  again  placed  in 
a  presentable  condition. 

Early  the  following  morning,  when  the  enemy 
again  appeared,  undoubtedly  to  take  possession, 
as  the  Fort  would  have  been  untenable  in  the 
condition  they  left  it  the  previous  evening,  we 
opened  fire  on  them,  but  they  had  seen  what 
had  been  done  during  the  night,  saw  at  once 
that  we  were  not  disposed  to  give  up ;  they  with- 
drew without  even  returning  our  fire,  and  the 
boys  would  remark,  they  are  treating  us  with 
silent  contempt. 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  85 

For  awhile  we  enjoyed  repose  and  the  lux- 
uries of  the  season  at  the  Southern  sea-coast, 
hunting  squirrels,  rabbits  and  fishing,  getting 
leave  of  absence  to  visit  home  for  a  few  days, 
when  one  day  the  report  reached  us  that  the 
enemy  effected  a  landing  at  Killkanee,  some 
distance  below  us  and  to  our  right.  The  bat- 
tery was  called  out  and  we  took  up  the  line  of 
march  to  meet  the  enemy.  We  camped  that 
night  near  a  church,  when  we  were  informed 
that  the  enemy's  demonstration  was  against  a 
small  salt  works,  an  enterprising  citizen  having 
erected  a  small  furnace  with  a  half  a  dozen  boil- 
ers, in  which  he  boiled  sea  water  to  obtain  salt, 
which,  at  that  time,  was  selling  at  a  dollar  a 
pound  by  the  hundred  pound  sack.  The  Com- 
pany returned  to  camp. 

About  ten  days  later  word  came  late  one 
afternoon  that  the  enemy  is  making  for  Poco- 
talico,  a  small  station  on  the  Savannah  and 
Charleston  Railroad,  intending  to  burn  a  long 
range  of  trestle  on  said  road.  Two  detachments 
were  sent  to  that  place  by  post  haste,  arriving 
in  time  to  place  themselves  in  position,  in  as 
quiet  a  way  as  possible.  At  about  ten  o'clock 
P.  M.  we  heard  a  very  noisy  demonstration 
to  our  right,  through  the  marshes  of  the 
swamps;  many  torches  became  visible.  They 


86  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

undoubtedly  expected  the  place  to  be  unpro- 
tected; when  they  came  within  full  range  we 
sent  canister  and  schrapanel  into  the  ranks; 
they  fell  back  in  confusion,  leaving  dead  and 
wounded  behind.  This  expedition  started  out 
from  Beauford,  S.  C.,  then  in  possession  of  the 
enemy.  One  dark  night  the  tide  being  up,  the 
Nashville  loaded  with  cotton  attempted  to  run 
the  gauntlet  of  the  blockaders.  On  the  turn  of 
the  river  just  opposite  the  Fort,  the  River 
Ogechee  being  about  a  mile  wide,  the  vessel  run 
aground  on  a  sand  bank,  and  was  unable  to 
extricate  itself.  The  enemy  being  on  the  look- 
out, spied  her  position  and  came  within  firing 
distance;  the  Fort  fired  at  them  furiously,  but 
they  paid  no  attention  to  us,  but  concentrated 
their  fire  on  the  steamer  Nashville  with  hot 
shots  and  soon  had  her  in  flames.  The  crew 
jumped  overboard  'and  swam  ashore  like  ducks. 
The  steamer  was  burned  and  completely 
destroyed.  I  was  again  taken  with  chills  and 
fever  and  sent  home  by  way  of  Dr.  Whitehead's 
hospital.  Sergeant  Hines  also  came  home  to 
recuperate,  when  one  morning  I  suggested  to 
have  an  egg-nog.  Cousin  Abe  was  a  merchant 
before  the  war,  and  still  kept  a  store  at  Fenns 
Bridge,  but  the  store  had  but  few  remnants  in 
it.  He  only  kept  such  goods  as  people  were  wil- 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  87 

ling  to  dispose  of  in  the  way  of  exchange,  for 
something  else,  and  among  his  stock,  he  had  a 
barrel  of  corn  whiskey.  I  said,  "Bill,  if  you 
furnish  the  eggs,  I  will  furnish  the  sugar  and 
whiskey;  my  chill  will  be  on  at  eleven  o'clock; 
we  have  an  hour  yet  and  kill  or  cure,  I  'm  going 
to  drink  nog.  It  may  help  me."  Dr.  White- 
head  had  supplied  me  with  a  vial  of  Fowler's 
Solution,  which  was  nearly  exhausted,  and  which 
had  done  me  no  good.  Sergeant  Hines  came  up, 
brought  a  dozen  eggs  and  we  made  a  nog.  At  ten 
thirty  A.  M.  I  took  the  first  goblet,  he  made  it 
tolerably  strong.  I  replenished  and  enjoyed  the 
contents,  and  as  we  were  sipping  it  quietly,  I 
looked  at  my  watch  and  was  surprised  to  see  it 
was  fiften  minutes  past  eleven  and  no  chill.  We 
slowly  finished  the  third  glass,  I  felt  the  effects 
of  it  somewhat,  but  we  were  not  intoxicated. 
At  twelve  o'clock  the  dinner  bell  rang  at  the 
house,  and  it  was  the  first  time  in  two  weeks 
that  I  was  able  to  partake  of  that  meal,  the 
chills  always  interfering.  I  never  had  another 
chill  in  twenty  years  thereafter,  hence  I  never 
became  a  prohibitionist.  I  believe  the  abuse  of 
whiskey  is  wrong,  while  its  proper  use  is  right. 
Sergeant  Hines  and  myself,  after  a  few  days 
longer  among  our  friends,  returned  to  our 
camp. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

The  following  incident  caused  a  rupture  of 
friendship  between  Lieutenant  Evan  P.  Howell 
and  myself,  which  made  military  service  unnec- 
essarily harder  on  me,  owing  to  our  respective 
ranks.  One  night,  it  was  on  a  Saturday,  I  had 
occasion  to  get  up,  it  was  late.  I  passed  the 
sentinel  on  post  number  one,  and  recognized 
William  Tolson  on  duty.  I  passed  the  usual 
greeting  of  " Hello!  Bill,  how  do  you  do,"  "0, 
Ike,  I'm  so  sick.  I've  one  of  the  hardest  chills 
on  me  I  ever  had."  "Why  don't  you  call  the 
Corporal  of  the  Guard,  and  get  relief!"  He 
replied,  he  wished  I  would  call  him,  so  I  called 
"Corporal  of  the  Guard,  post  number  one." 
Corporal  William  O'Quinn  came  up  to  see 
what's  up.  I  said,  "Corporal,  Tolson  is  sick 
and  ought  to  be  relieved."  Presently  the  Cor- 
poral returned  from  headquarters,  saying  the 
officers  are  all  gone  over  to  Patterson,  they  were 
having  a  dance  at  the  Quartermaster's,  Major 
Cranston,  and  there  is  no  one  at  headquarters 
but  Dr.  Stevenson  who  is  drunk,  and  I  can 't  get 
any  sense  out  of  him.  When  I  told  him  that  one 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  89 

of  the  men  were  sick,  he  said  "You  see  that 
puppy,  is  he  not  the  finest  you  have  ever  seen?" 
having  reference  to  a  small  dog  he  fondled. 
*  *  Finding  out  that  I  can 't  get  any  relief,  I  came 
back,  so  I  told  Tolson  to  go  in  and  I  would 
stand  guard  in  his  place.  Tolson  was  a  good 
soldier,  he  was  a  native  Englishman,  and  when 
he  got  over  his  chill  he  was  loud  in  his  denun- 
ciation as  to  his  treatment,  so  he  was  punished 
for  having  spoken  derogatory  about  the  officers 
and  condemned  to  wear  ball  and  chain  for  twen- 
ty-four hours.  This  was  the  first  time  that  I 
knew  there  was  such  a  thing  as  a  ball  and  chain 
in  camp  for  the  punishment  of  man.  The  fol- 
lowing Monday  night,  the  writer  having  found 
out  all  about  the  particulars  and  the  doings  at 
the  Quartermaster's,  wrote  up  a  program  of 
intoxication  at  Granston  Hall,  Saturday  night, 
March  1863.  I  treated  the  matter  more  of  a 
burlesque  than  otherwise,  and  wound  up  in 
these  words:  "That's  the  way  Confederate 
whiskey  goes,  pop  goes  the  Government." 
Captain  Martin  was  off  and  Lieutenant  Howell 
was  in  command.  Lieutenants  Bland  and  Rob- 
erson  laughed  over  the  matter  and  took  it  good 
naturedly.  W.  N.  Harmon  was  the  only  man 
in  the  Company  who  saw  me  write  the  article, 


90  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

and  when  finished  I  read  it  to  him.  He  pro- 
nounced it  a  good  joke  and  asked  me  what  I  was 
going  to  do  with  it.  I  said,  "I  am  going  to 
stick  it  up  on  the  big  pine  where  general  orders 
are  posted,  so  that  the  men  can  read  it  after 
reveille  call,  so  he  made  some  light-wood  pegs, 
and  we  went  together  and  posted  it.  The  arti- 
cle was  not  signed,  and  was  written  in  a  round 
handwriting.  The  men  enjoyed  it  and  laughed 
a  great  deal  over  it,  when  Sergeant  Fulford 
came  up  and  tore  down  the  paper,  and  carried 
it  to  the  officer's  tent.  They  inquired,  what  is 
the  matter,  what  are  the  men  laughing  about. 
He  presented  the  paper.  Lieutenant  Howell, 
after  reading  it,  got  raving  mad,  while  Lieuten- 
ants Eoberson  and  Bland  took  it  good  na- 
turedly.  Lieutenant  Howell  was  determined  to 
find  out  the  author,  so  during  the  day  he  took  up 
the  men  by  fours  and  swore  them  on  the  Bible, 
if  they  knew  who  wrote  the  paper.  I  was  at 
the  station  on  that  day  and  was  absent.  When 
I  returned  to  my  mess,  they  told  me  what  was 
going  on,  and  that  Lieutenant  Howell  was  try- 
ing to  find  out  who  wrote  that  article,  so  I  said, 
"Bill,"  meaning  William  Harmon,  "He  took 
up  the  wrong  men;  if  he  had  called  on  me  I 
would  have  saved  him  that  trouble".  He  an- 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  91 

swered,  "Well,  what  will  you  do?"  "Well,  you 
don't  believe  that  I  would  swear  to  a  lie?"  I  got 
up  saying,  "I  will  satisfy  his  curiosity,"  and  up 
to  his  tent  I  went.  He  was  sitting  in  a  chair 
smoking.  "Good  evening  Lieutenant,"  says  I. 
"I  understand  that  you  are  very  anxious  to 
know  who  wrote  that  paper  Sergeant  Fulford 
submitted  for  your  inspection.  I  can  give  you 
all  the  information  you  require."  Lieutenant 
Howell  at  once  brightened  up  and  became  all 
smiles.  "You  know — who  did  it?"  "Your 
humble  servant."  In  a  twinkling  his  counte- 
nance changed.  He  became  pale  with  rage, 
working  himself  into  a  passion,  and  very  per- 
emptorily ordered  me  to  stand  at  attention.  I 
at  once  planted  my  heels  together  to  form  a  per- 
fect angle,  placed  my  little  fingers  along  the 
seams  of  my  pantaloons,  my  arms  extending  at 
full  length,  my  body  erect,  facing  my  superior 
officer.  I  humbly  remarked,  "Will  that  do?"— 
"What  did  you  do  it  for?"— "You  had  your 
fun,  am  I  not  entitled  to  have  some?"— "You 
made  false  charges ;  you  said  we  drank  Govern- 
ment whiskey.  I  want  you  to  understand  what 
liquor  we  drank  we  bought  and  paid  for  it." 
"Well,  Lieutenant,  I  have  not  accused  any- 
body ;  not  even  mentioned  a  single  name,  but  if 


92  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

the  cap  fits  you,  you  can  wear  it.  I  have  noth- 
ing to  retract."  By  that  time,  Howell  was 
surely  mad.  "I-I-I  reduce  you  to  ranks !  I  put 
you  on  double  duty  for  thirty  days  and  to  wear 
ball  and  chain."  "Is  that  all?"  "Lieutenant, 
I  volunteered  in  the  Confederate  army  to  do  my 
full  duty,  as  I  always  have  done,  in  regard  to 
duty ;  you  only  can  put  me  on  every  other  day, 
but  when  it  comes  to  degrading  me  by  making 
me  wear  ball  and  chain,  I  give  you  fair  notice 
that  I  will  kill  any  man  who  attempts  to  place 
the  same  on  my  limbs,"  and  I  made  my  exit,, 
going  to  my  mess-mates.  "Well,  how  did  you 
come  out?"  the  boys  asked  me.  I  related  what 
had  passed  between  Lieutenant  and  I.  William 
Harmon,  then  said,  "Did  you  tell  him  that  I 
helped  you  stick  it  up!"  I  said,  "No,  I  shoul- 
dered the  whole  responsibility.  What  good 
would  it  do  to  implicate  you?"  "Well  you* 
shall  not  be  the  only  one  to  do  double  duty," 
and  off  he  went  to  tell  Lieutenant  Howell  that 
he  also  had  a  hand  in  it,  and  consequently  he- 
was  also  condemned  to  double  duty  for  thirty 
days.  "Did  he  also  tell  you  to  wear  ball  and 
chain  ? ' '  Harmon  said  * '  No. '  * 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  93 

That  iiiglit,  I  slept,  as  the  saying  is,  with  one 
eye  open.  I  had  my  pistol  within  easy  reach, 
and  my  sabre  by  my  side.  No  attempt  however, 
was  made  to  chain  me.  The  following  morning 
I  was  called  for  guard  duty.  I  took  my  post, 
carrying  my  sabre  across  my  neck,  bear  fashion. 
My  post  was  in  full  view  of  the  officers'  head- 
quarters. When  Lieutenant  Howell  sent  Ser- 
geant Hines  to  me  to  tell  me  if  I  didn't  carry  my 
sabre  at  '  *  Carry  Sabre, ' '  he  would  keep  me  on 
four  hours  instead  of  two.  Having  been  the 
bugler  of  the  Company  I  was  never  instructed 
how  to  carry  sabre.  ' '  Sergeant,  can 't  you  teach 
me  how?"  Hines  remarked,  "I  know  you  know 
better  how  to  handle  a  sabre  than  anyone  in 
camp.  I  have  seen  you  and  Hoffman  fight  at 
Laurel  Hill.  I  tell  you,  I  have  been  on  duty  all 
night  and  I  would  like  to  go  to  sleep.  This  may 
be  fun  to  you,  but  not  to  me,  just  now. ' '  I  said, 
''Well  Bill,  go  ahead,"  so  I  carried  my  sword 
to  suit  his  Excellency,  the  commanding  officer. 

Later  in  the  day  J.  J.  Sheppard  came  to  me 
saying,  ' '  Ike,  Lieutenant  Howell  told  me  that  I 
was  appointed  bugler  in  your  place."  "Well, 
sir,  I  congratulate  you  on  your  promotion." 
"He  said  for  me  to  ask  you  for  the  bugle."  I 
said,  "All  right  Sheppard,"  I  took  the  bugle 


94  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

and  broke  it  in  halves  and  handed  it  to  Shep- 
pard.  He  looked  astonished — I  remarked, 
"That  instrument  is  private  property  and 
belongs  to  me,  my  money  paid  for  it,  and  I  have 
a  right  to  handle  it  as  I  please,  not  meaning  any 
disrespect  to  you,  Sheppard."  The  following 
day,  word  came  in  camp  for  volunteers  to  han- 
dle siege  pieces  in  Charleston,  S.  C.  The  enemy 
making  heavy  demonstration  against  that  City. 
The  Company  sent  men  they  could  spare, 
among  whom  I  formed  a  contingent  part.  My 
detachment  was  placed  in  the  battery  in  charge 
of  a  heavy  siege  gun.  The  people  of  that  City 
treated  us  royally  and  brought  us  plenty  of  pro- 
visions besides  what  we  got  from  the  commis- 
sary. We  remained  there  a  couple  of  weeks. 
The  whole  business  turned  out  to  be  a  fiasco, 
and  we  returned  back  to  our  camps.  It  was 
one  of  the  most  pleasant  periods  I  have  enjoyed 
during  the  whole  war.  I  was  again  called  on 
duty  when  I  remarked,  "This  comes  around 
pretty  often."  The  Sergeant  remarked,  "You 
have  to  finish  your  sentence."  I  at  once  went 
to  headquarters  and  met  Lieutenant  Howell  and 
said,  *  *  Do  you  intend  to  make  me  finish  the  pen- 
alty you  imposed  on  me?"  "To  be  sure,  I  do," 
was  his  reply.  "Well,  you  can't  do  it  after  you 
accepted  my  services  for  Charleston,"  and  I 


WAB  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  95 

demanded  a  court-martial  before  I  would  finish 
it.  Afterwards  Sergeant  Hines  came  from 
headquarters,  saying,  "Howell  said,  Ike  got 
me,"  "I  have  no  right  to  inflict  a  continuance  of 
punishment  after  accepting  his  services  in  some 
other  direction,  but  confound  him,  I'll  get  even 
with  him."  Thus  matters  stood,  when  some 
fine  day  the  ball  and  chain  was  missing,  no  one 
knew  what  became  of  it,  but  somewhere  in  the 
middle  of  the  Ogeechee  Biver  some  two  hundred 
yards  below  Camp  Arnold,  it  may  be  found  now, 
having  rested  there  these  forty  six  years. 

On  the  eighth  of  May  we  were  ordered  to 
Mississippi.  We  went  by  the  way  of  Columbus, 
Ga.,  arriving  there  about  three  o'clock  P.  M. 
The  ladies  had  prepared  a  fine  spread  for  us 
at  the  depot.  The  men  were  hungry.  Capt.  F. 
G.  WilMns  being  mayor  of  the  City,  Mayor  Wil- 
kins  was  Captain  of  the  Columbus  Guards,  Com- 
pany B,  First  Eegiment,  Georgia  Volunteers, 
and  on  his  return  home,  after  his  severe  expe- 
rience of  one  year's  military  service,  he  pre- 
ferred civil  service  as  more  congenial  to  his 
feelings.  He  was  a  brave  and  fearless  soldier. 
At  Carricks  Ford,  he  and  twelve  of  his  men  got 
mixed  in  with  the  Yankees,  who  at  that  time 
wore  also  grey  uniforms.  They  were  Ohio 


96  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

troops.  Captain  Wilkins  on  seeing  his  dilemma, 
formed  his  men  into  line,  then  into  column  mak- 
ing them  go  through  evolutions,  and  manual  of 
arms,  and  marched  them  to  the  rear,  and  out 
of  the  Yankee  columns  without  being  suspicion- 
ed  or  receiving  a  scratch.  Such  coolness  is  not 
often  exhibited  on  a  danger  line,  and  Captain 
Wilkins  reached  Monterey  long  before  any  of 
the  Regiment  did,  and  saved  himself  and  his 
men  a  great  deal  of  hardship. 

When  alighting  from  the  train  and  seeing  all 
those  good  things  prepared  for  us,  I  at  once  took 
my  position.  A  lady  remarked,  ''Help  your- 
self. ' '  I  took  hold  of  a  piece  of  fowl,  and  as  I 
was  about  to  take  a  bite,  someone  struck  me  on 
the  arm  with  such  force  that  the  piece  of  fowl 
dropped  out  of  my  hand,  and  someone  said, 
i  i  Those  things  are  not  for  you. ' '  It  was  Mayor 
Wilkins.  He  was  glad  to  see  me,  and  said,  "I 
have  something  better  for  you,  boys.  How 
many  of  the  First  Georgia  are  here?  Get  them 
all  together  and  follow  me."  We  were  about  a 
dozen  of  the  old  Washington  Rifles.  He  con- 
ducted us  to  a  room  where  we  met  a  committee 
of  gentlemen.  After  the  usual  shaking  hands 
and  introductions,  we  passed  into  another  cham- 
ber. I  never  beheld  a  more  bountiful  and  ar- 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  97 

tistically  prepared  spread.  Provisions  arranged 
on  a  revolving  table,  shelved  to  a  pyramid, 
and  loaded  with  delicious  wines.  In  a  corner  of 
the  room  was  a  table  covered  with  case  liquors 
of  every  description,  and  some  fine  cigars.  I 
was  astonished,  I  had  no  idea  such  delicacies 
could  have  been  gotten  in  the  whole  Confed- 
eracy. We  surely  did  enjoy  the  hospitality  of 
that  Committee.  Mayor  Wilkins  introduced 
me  to  a  Mr.  Eothschild,  saying,  "I  want  you  to 
take  good  care  of  him,  he  is  a  splendid  fellow. ' ' 
Turning  to  me  he  said,  * '  Hermann,  I  want  you 
to  stay  all  night  with  this  gentleman,  he 
will  treat  you  all  right. ' '  I  said, ' '  Captain  Wil- 
kins, I  can't  leave  camps  without  a  permit,  and 
myself  and  Captain  Howell  are  not  on  such 
terms  as  for  me  to  ask  him  for  any  favors." 
"Well,  I'll  arrange  that,  you  come  along." 
Captain  Wilkins  said  to  Howell,  "I  want  Ike 
to  go  home  with  my  friend  here,"  designating 
Mr.  Rothschild.  Captain  Howell  said,  "You'll 
have  to  be  here  by  seven  o'clock,  A.  M.  The 
train  will  leave  at  that  time."  Mr.  Eothschild 
spoke  up,  saying,  "I'll  have  him  here  on  time." 
I  was  royally  treated ;  the  lady  of  the  house  and 
daughter  played  on  the  piano  and  sang.  I 
joined  in  the  chorus  'till  late  in  the  night,  when 
I  was  shown  to  my  room,  nicely  furnished,  a 


98  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

nice  clean  feather  bed  and  all  the  requisites  for 
comfort,  but  I  could  not  sleep,  I  did  not  lay  com- 
fortable. The  two  years  service  I  had  seen, 
made  a  feather  bed  rather  an  impediment  to  my 
repose,  having  become  accustomed  to  sleep  out 
doors  on  the  hard  ground,  with  my  knapsack 
as  a  pillow,  so  I  got  up,  put  my  knap  sack  under 
my  head  and  lay  by  the  side1  of  the  bed  on  the 
carpet,  and  slept  like  a  log  the  balance  of  the 
night ;  so  soundly,  that  I  did  not  hear  the  negro 
boy  who  was  sent  to  my  room  to  blacken  my 
boots,  open  the  door,  but  I  heard  a  noise  like 
someone  slamming  the  door  and  I  heard  some- 
one running  down  stairs.  I  heard  many  voices 
talking,  and  someone  coming  up  stairs,  opening 
the  door  very  unceremoniously,  I  looked — there 
was  Mr.  Rothschild,-  greatly  astonished  and 
laughing,  he  could  hardly  talk.  Finally  he  said, 
*  *  What  in  the  world  made  you  lay  on  the  floor. ' ' 
I  explained  to  him  that  being  no  longer  used 
to  sleeping  on  a  bed,  I  could  not  rest  until  I  got 
on  the  hard  floor.  Then  he  told  me  he  had  sent 
up  a  boy  to  blacken  my  boots,  who  had  scared 
them  all  by  telling  them  that  the  man  up  stairs 
had  fallen  off  of  the  bed  and  lay  dead  on  the 
floor.  I  took  my  ablution,  and  went  down  to 
breakfast,  all  enjoying  that  I  was  still  able  to 
do  justice  to  the  meal  that  my  kind  host  and 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  99 

hostess  set  before  me.  After  many  thanks  and 
good  byes  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rothschild  and  the 
family,  Mr.  Rothschild  and  myself  went  down 
to  the  train,  which  was  in  waiting.  Everytning 
was  soon  ready  and  we  departed  for  Mobile, 
Ala.  At  Greenville,  Ala.,  I  met  General  W.  H. 
T.  Walker  for  the  first  time.  Martin's  battery 
was  assigned  to  his  brigade.  Captain  Martin 
was  promoted  to  Major,  and  Chief  of  Start  of 
General  Walker's  brigade,  and  Lieutenant  Evan 
P.  Howell,  by  right  of  seniority,  took  his  place 
as  Captain.  From  Mobile,  we  went  to  Jackson, 
Miss.,  one  section  of  two  cannons  were  left 
behind  under  charge  of  Lieutenant  Robson.  Ths 
balance  arrived  at  destination  at  about  three 
o'clock  P.  M.,  May  12th,  1863.  We  unloaded  the 
pieces  at  once,  and  all  the  accoutrements,  all 
the  horses  and  harnessed  them  up  without  the 
loss  of  any  time,  took  up  the  line  of  march 
towards  Raymond  Springs.  The  weather  was 
very  warm  and  the  road  of  red  clay  was  very 
dusty  for  men  marching  in  columns.  The  dust 
would  rise  like  clouds  of  ashes  at  every  step. 
It  must  be  remembered  that  it  was  ration  day, 
but  we  had  no  time  to  draw  any.  As  we 
advanced,  we  met  General  Gists'  Brigade  just 
out  of  a  fight  with  General  Grant's  forces,  who 
landed  at  Port  Gibson,  on  his  forward  move 


100  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

to  Vicksburg.  General  Gist  had  several  pris- 
oners. Among  them  was  a  Captain.  I  spoke 
to  him  and  asked  him  about  the  strength 
of  'Grant's  army.  Of  course,  I  did  not  ex- 
pect a  truthful  answer.  He  replied,  "If 
you'll  keep  on  in  the  direction  you  are  go- 
ing, you  will  meet  him.  He  is  not  so  very 
far,  ahead  of  you,  and  when  you  do  meet  him, 
you  will  think  he  has  more  than  enough  to  eat 
you  all  up."  Well,  he  did  tell  the  truth,  and  it- 
has  been  our  misfortune  all  through  the  war  to 
fight  against  many  odds.  We  kept  advancing, 
when  of  a  sudden  the  command  was  ordered  to 
halt.  We  formed  ourselves  into  battery,  and  I 
was  placed  in  charge  of  a  detachment.  General 
Walker  ordered  me  to  follow  him.  About  two 
hundred  yards  ahead  the  road  took  a  sudden 
turn  around  the  bluff,  which  commanded  a 
straight  stretch  of  about  a  mile.  General  Walk- 
er ordered  me  to  unlimber  my  gun  and  place 
it  in  position,  so  as  to  command  that  road,  and 
ordered  me  to  fire  into  any  cavalry  that  might 
appear.  At  the  further  end  of  my  view  was  a 
water  mill.  I  remarked,  "General,  had  I  not 
better  let  them  advance  somewhat,  so  as  not  to 
waste  too  much  ammunition?"  "You  must  use 
your  own  judgment,"  said  he.  Looking  about 
me,  I  saw  no  infantry  in  close  proximity,  so  I 


WAB  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  101 

ventured  to  ask  him  where  my  support  was. 
He  answered,  "Support  Hell! — If  they  charge 
you,  fight  them  with  the  hand  spikes,  don't  you 
never  leave  this  post,"  and  left. 

Mr.  James  F.  Brooks  acted  as  my  No.  1.  I 
asked  him  if  he  had  made  his  will,  if  not,  he  had 
better,  as  we  were  there  to  stay.  We  watched 
with  all  our  eyes,  we  saw  no  enemies.  Just 
about  dark,  we  were  ordered  to  limber  up,  and 
double  quick  to  the  rear,  for  about  a  mile,  the 
enemy  having  taken  another  route  and  we  were 
in  danger  of  being  cut  off.  Weary  and  foot- 
sore, having  marched  about  ten  miles  that  after- 
noon, we  retraced  our  steps  within  about  three 
miles  of  Jackson,  hungry  and  thirsty,  we 
marched  on,  large  oaks  bordered  the  road  at 
places  and  the  roots  protruded  above  the  sur- 
face of  the  ground;  having  on  a  pair  of  shoes, 
left  foot  number  six  for  a  number  8  foot,  while 
my  right  shoe  was  a  number  10  brogan,  I  cram- 
med cotton  in  shoe  number  10  to  prevent  too 
much  friction  and  cut  off  the  end  of  number  6 
to  avoid  the  painful  sensation  of  being  cramped, 
but  misfortunes  never  come  single — the  night 
became  dark  and  it  threatened  to  rain.  I  stum- 
bled over  one  of  those  protruding  roots  and 
tore  off  half  of  my  unprotected  toe  nail  on  my 


102  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

left  foot,  a  most  excruciating  and  painful  sen- 
sation. I  did  not  swear,  because  I  was  speech- 
less. I  mounted  the  caisson,  our  horses  were 
jaded,  had  had  no  food  nor  water  that  day,  but 
managed  to  get  into  camp.  Dr.  Stewart,  our 
surgeon  was  left  at  Jackson,  with  a  few  of  our 
command  who  were  sick.  W.  J.  Bell  was  our 
ambulance  driver.  He  drove  me  to  Dr.  Stew- 
art's camp  to  dress  my  wound  that  night.  I  was 
all  0.  K.  next  morning,  when  the  ball  opened 
after  day  break.  Our  pickets  announced  the 
enemy's  advance.  The  skirmishes  then  came 
into  play  and  kept  the  advance  at  some  bay  for 
some  time,  our  forces  placing  themselves  in  posi- 
tion to  receive  them  in  due  form.  We  were 
five  thousand  strong,  while  the  enemy  numbered 
twenty-five  thousand.  At  about  eleven  A.  M. 
orders  came  from  our  right  to  left  to  fall  back, 
and  we  gradually  withdrew,  putting  on  our  pro- 
longs, and  firing  occasionally  as  we  retraced  our 
steps.  When  the  fight  first  opened  I  was  in  the 
rear,  as  stated,  on  account  of  my  foot,  but  after 
being  dressed  and  hearing  the  firing,  I  made  for 
the  front,  and  reported  to  Captain  Howell  for 
duty,  while  he  was  in  line  of  battle  on  the 
extreme  left.  He  said  his  detachment  was  com- 
plete, to  report  to  the  next.  Having  only  four 
pieces  of  artillery  in  action,  two  under  charge 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  103 

of  Lieutenant  Robson  not  having  yet  arrived, 
they  were  placed  along  the  front  about  two  hun- 
dred yards  apart,  all  had  full  working  force.  I 
retraced  my  steps  and  so  reported  to  the  Cap- 
tain, saying,  "Well,  Captain,  there  being  no  use 
for  me  here,  I  shall  go  to  the  rear  to  protect 
myself  and  watch  the  progress  of  the  fight, 
should  there  be  any  casualties  in  the  Company 
I'll  take  their  place — no  use  for  me  to  be  here 
unless  I  can  be  of  some  service."  Up  to  that 
time  the  skirmish  line  was  still  contending  for 
every  inch  of  the  ground.  Captain  Howell  says 
to  me,  "You  stay  here,  and  act  as  my  orderly. 
I'm  hoarse  anyhow,  and  you  have  a  good  voice 
and  can  repeat  my  orders  and  commands, "  so  I 
was  installed  by  the  side  of  the  Captain.  The 
ground  on  which  we  stood  was  a  gradual  incline, 
while  that  of  the  enemy  was  about  on  a  level 
with  us,  leaving  a  sort  of  a  basin  or  valley 
between  both  lines.  It  was  a  novel  sight  to  see 
our  skirmishers  contending  every  inch  of  the 
ground  before  an  overwhelming  force,  to  see 
them,  load  and  fire,  and  gradually  falling  back, 
facing  the  advancing  foe.  When  suddenly  they 
emerged  from  the  woods,  where  they  were  con- 
cealed, and  advanced  in  platoon  form,  sending 
their  deadly  missiles  into  our  thin  skirmishers 
ranks.  I  said,  "This  is  more  than  our  men  can 


104  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

stand,  let  me  throw  a  shell  over  their  heads, 
into  their  ranks."  He  answered,  "Do  so,  but 
don't  shoot  our  men."  "No  danger,"  said  I. 
I  depressed  the  bridge  of  my  piece,  raising  the 
muzzle  about  four  fingers.  No.  four  pulled  the 
laniard.  It  had  a  good  effect,  and  resulted  in 
stopping  their  advance,  and  thus  enables  our 
skirmishers  to  come  in.  My  fire  also  gave  them 
our  position  and  distance.  They  at  once  formed 
a  battery  in  front  of  us.  I  aimed  a  second  shot 
at  a  white  horse.  Captain  Howell  watching  its 
effect.  I  being  behind  the  gun,  the  smoke  pre 
vented  me  from  so  doing,  when  he  said,  "You 
got  him."  I  soon  found  out  that  I  had  done 
some  damage  and  that  my  range  was  accurate, 
for  they  centered  their  fire  of  several  pieces 
against  my  own.  One  of  their  shots  passed  over 
my  gun  and  knocked  off  its  sight,  passed 
between  the  detachment,  striking  the  caisson  lid 
in  the  rear  and  staving  it  in,  and  thus  prevent- 
ing us  for  a  few  minutes  in  replying.  We  had 
to  break  it  open  with  the  hand  spikes  to  get 
ammunition.  They  undoubtedly  thought  that 
we  were  irreparably  silenced,  and  paid  their 
respects  to  some  other  part  of  our  line,  but  we 
resumed  business  again,  and  they  came  back  at 
us.  I  saw  a  ball  rolling  on  the  ground,  about 
six  feet  to  my  right.  It  seemed  to  be  about  the 


WAE  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  105 

same  caliber  as  ours.  It  rolled  up  a  stump, 
bouncing  about  fifteen  feet  in  the  air.  I  thought 
it  was  a  solid  shot  and  wanting  to  send  it  back 
to  them  through  the  muzzle  of  our  gun,  I  ran 
after  it.  It  proved  to  be  a  shell,  as  it  exploded, 
and  a  piece  of  it  struck  my  arm.  It  was  a  pain- 
ful wound,  but  not  serious.  Another  ball  struck 
a  tree  about  eight  inches  in  diameter,  knocked 
out  a  chip,  which  struck  my  face  and  caused 
me  to  see  the  seven  stars  in  plain  day  light  and 
very  near  got  a  scalp  of  Captain  Howell,  who 
stood  behind  that  tree.  Orders  came  for  Cap- 
tain Howell  to  fall  back.  He  asked  me  to  inform 
Major  Martin,  who  was  in  command  of  the  piece 
at  the  extreme  right,  that  he  was  falling  back. 
I  had  to  traverse  the  whole  front  of  our  line.  I 
took  the  color  bearers'  horse,  a  fine  animal. 
We  named  him  Stonewall.  The  enemy's  fire 
was  rather  high,  as  they  came  up  the  incline 
and  the  balls  rattled  through  the  tree  tops  like 
hail.  It  commenced  raining  very  hard.  I  dis- 
mounted and  took  it  afoot.  On  my  way  passing 
the  third  section,  Sim  Bland,  who  acted  as  num- 
ber 6,  and  whose  duty  it  was  to  carry  the  ammu- 
nition from  the  caisson  and  to  hand  it  to  No.  2 
who  inserts  it  in  the  muzzle  of  the  gun,  while 
No.  1  rammed  it  home.  As  I  crossed  him  at  a 
trot,  I  remarked,  "Sim,  this  is  hot  time." 


106  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

Before  he  could  reply,  a  solid  cannon  ball  had 
struck  him.  Poor  fellow,  he  did  not  know  what 
hit  him,  for  he  was  dead.  His  whole  left  side 
entirely  torn  to  pieces. 

The  enemy  was  now  advancing  more  rapidly, 
as  our  whole  line  had  given  away.  On  my  return 
I  found  my  horse  also  shot  down.  I  was  trying 
to  save  the  body  of  Bland,  but  couldn't  get  the 
assistance  needed.  I  went  through  his  pockets 
and  took  what  he  had  therein  and  gave  it  to  his 
brother,  Lieutenant  Bland.  The  enemy  pushed 
me  so  close  I  had  to  take  to  the  woods  in  my 
immediate  rear,  the  trees  of  which  somewhat 
protected  me  from  the  enemy's  fire.  About  a 
hundred  yards  further  I  found  Sergeant  New- 
some  with  his  gun  and  a  detachment,  trying  to 
make  for  the  public  road  leading  to  Jackson. 
He  had  managed  so  far  to  drive  his  commas  • 
evading  the  trees  of  the  forest,  when  suddenly 
he  was  confronted  by  a  plank  fence  which  stood 
perfectly  erect,  not  a  plank  missing  and  about 
five  feet  high.  He  ordered  the  horses  cut  out 
of  the  harness,  and  was  about  to  abandon  his 
guns,  when  I  hollered,  "No  Sergeant,  don't  do 
it!  Bide  through  between  the  posts,  they  are 
wide  enough  apart,  knock  down  the  planks."  I 
put  myself  in  action  and  kicked  against  the 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  107 

planks,  when  the  whole  panel  fell  over,  carry- 
ing several  others  with  it,  for  all  the  posts  were 
completely  rotten  at  the  ground,  and  thus  I 
saved  this  piece  of  artillery  and  probably  the 
men.  We  reached  the  road  and  marched  in  col- 
umn. It  was  raining  hard  and  every  man  was 
soaked  to  the  skin.  The  column  halted,  having 
fallen  back  about  a  half  a  mile,  firing  as  they 
went,  when  again  we  formed  in  line  of  battle. 
I  was  very  tired,  and  sat  down  by  the  road  side. 
WTien  called  again  into  action,  I  found  that  I 
could  not  use  my  arm,  and  that  the  leaders  of 
my  leg  had  contracted  at  my  groins.  The 
enemy  had  again  out-flanked  us,  and  the  men 
lifted  me  on  a  caisson. 

The  horses  stalled.  The  road  being  very 
muddy,  the  men  had  to  assist  at  the  wheel  to 
pull  the  carriages  out  of  the  mud,  by  using  all 
their  efforts,  so  I  had  to  get  down,  for  I  felt 
that  after  all  the  gun  would  have  to  be  aban- 
doned, and  I  did  not  care  to  be  taken  prisoner, 
but  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston  made  a  stand  a 
little  further  on,  until  the  Yankees  outflanked 
him  again.  Major  Martin  happened  to  be  just 
passing  me  on  his  horse.  I  begged  him  to  take 
me  behind  him,  as  I  could  not  walk.  He  answer- 
ed, "It  is  impossible,  we  are  going  to  make 


108  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

another  stand.  Get  in  the  ambulance."  When 
the  ambulance  came  in  sight,  it  was  full  to  over- 
flow with  wounded  and  dying.  The  Major  again 
rode  up.  I  said  "Major  Martin,  can't  you  get 
me  out  of  my  difficulty,"  he  replied,  "Hermann, 
do  the  best  you  can  to  take  care  of  yourself.  If 
they  capture  you,  I  will  have  you  exchanged  as 
soon  as  possible."  Poor  consolation,  I  thought, 
but  I  was  determined  not  to  be  taken  if  I  pos- 
sibly could  help  it,  so  I  started  towards  Jackson; 
taking  the  e'dge  of  the  woods,  first  on  account  of 
the  mud,  then  as  somewhat  of  a  protection  from 
the  bullets.  My  locomotion  was  slow,  from  eight 
to  ten  inches  was  the  longest  strides  I  was  able 
to  make,  and  this  with  excruciating  pains.  Pres- 
ently our  forces  rushed  past  me  and  formed 
again  into  line  of  battle,  thus  leaving  me  be- 
tween both  lines,  the  bullets  coming  from  either 
direction,  when  again  I  entered  our  line.  This 
maneuvre  happened  three  times  before  I  reached 
Jackson,  in  a  stretch  of  three  miles.  It  was 
then  four  o'clock  p.  m. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

When  we  reached  Jackson  the  previous 
day  I  noted  a  flat  by  the  side  of  the  railroad 
bridge.  I  was  thinking  to  cross  Pearl  Eiver 
by  that  means,  so  I  started  to  the  right  towards 
the  railroad  bridge.  On  my  way  down  the 
street  a  lady  was  standing  over  a  tub  of  whis- 
key with  a  dipper  in  her  hand.  She  said  to  me, 
* '  Poor  fellow,  are  you  wounded ! ' '  I  said,  *  *  Yes. ' ' 
She  dipped  up  a  dipper  full  of  whiskey,  which 
I  drank.  It  had  a  good  effect  on  my  shattered 
nerves  and  did  not  cause  me  the  least  dizziness. 
It  was  the  medicine  I  surely  needed.  On  arriv- 
ing at  the  River,  I  found  the  flat  was  gone,  the 
railroad  bridge  was  the  only  chance  left  me  to 
cross.  I  crawled  up  the  embankment  and  found 
that  the  cross  ties  were  too  far  apart  for  me  to 
step  it,  owing  to  my  contracted  leaders,  so  I 
concluded  to  "coon  it"  on  my  hands  and  knees 
on  the  stringers,  holding  onto  the  rail. 

The  bridge  is  a  long  one  and  very  high,  Jack- 
son being  built  on  a  high  bluff.  When  about 
half  way  across  I  heard  a  great  deal  of  noise 
and  reports  of  fire  arms ;  I  heard  bullets  whiz- 
zing by.  Finally  bullets  were  hitting  the  trestle 


110  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

beneath  me  and  in  front  of  me.  Looking  back 
I  saw  at  a  distance  of  about  four  hundred  yards 
a  force  of  the  enemy,  which  I  judged  to  be  about 
half  a  regiment,  coming  up  the  lowlands  in  a 
flank  around  Jackson.  My  first  impulse  was, 
can  I  make  it  across,  or  must  I  surrender?  I 
concluded  to  take  the  chances,  and  continued 
to  cross.  Bullets  were  striking  beneath  me, 
and  in  front,  splinters  were  flying.  One  ball  hit 
the  rail  about  six  inches  in  front  of  my  hand. 
They  were  gaining  on  me  fast,  when  at  last  I 
reached  the  other  side,  laying  myself  flat  on  the 
track,  I  rolled  over,  down  about  an  eighteen 
foot  embankment.  Thus  being  protected  from 
the  enemy's  bullets,  I  entered  the  swamp  not 
far  beside  the  road  leading  to  Branton,  I  noted 
a  large  hollow  poplar  tree.  It  must  have  been 
four  or  five  feet  in  diameter.  I  crawled  in,  I 
felt  faint  and  weak,  had  not  eaten  anything  that 
day.  I  must  have  fainted;  when  presently  I 
heard  the  sound  of  artillery  and  musketry  to 
my  right  across  the  river  and  the  noise  of  an 
empty  wagon  coming  from  towards  Branton.  I 
took  a  reconnoitering  look,  and  saw  Jackson  on 
fire  and  a  wagon  driven  by  a  negro,  holding  the 
lines  over  four  splendid  mules,  coming  towards 
the  city.  I  took  my  stand  in  the  road,  pistol  in 
hand.  The  following  conversation  ensued : 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  111 

"Halt.     Where  are  you  going?" 

"To  Jackson.  Marse  Eichard  sent  me  to 
fotch  his  things.  He  is  afraid  the  Yankees 
would  cotch  him." 

"How  will  you  get  across?" 

"Goes  on  the  flat,  sah." 

"There  is  no  flat  now." 

"Yes  there  is,  and  Marse  Richard " 

"Turn  the  head  of  the  mules  towards  Bran- 
ton,  or  you  are  a  dead  Negro" — aiming  at  him 
as  I  spoke.  He  exclaimed,  "Don't  shoot  Mars- 
ter,  I'll  do  as  you  say."  He  turned  the  mules 
towards  where  he  came  from.  I  crawled  behind 
in  the  wagon,  pistol  in  hand,  and  at  a  gallop  all 
the  way  for  twelve  miles.  We  entered  Branton 
in  the  early  part  of  the  night.  The  people  were 
still  up  at  the  Hotel.  The  excitement  ran  high 
about  the  enemies  capturing  Jackson.  Branton 
was  a  nice  little  village.  The  negro  proved  to 
be  a  run-away.  Had  stolen  the  team  from  the 
quarter-master  and  running  with  it  to  the 
enemy.  The  lady  of  the  hotel  came  to  me  say- 
ing, "Are  you  wounded!"  I  stated  my  condi- 
tion, and  she  sympathized  with  me,  saying, 
"Poor  fellow,  I  expect  you  need  something  to 


112  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

eat."  I  surely  did,  for  I  was  more  dead  than 
alive,  after  having  passed  such  an  eventful  day. 
I  ate  a  hearty  supper.  I  was  given  a  shirt.  She 
bandaged  my  arm,  which  was  smarting  badly. 
She  furnished  me  a  room  and  a  bottle  of  mus- 
tang linament  to  rub  myself.  My  clothes  which 
were  full  of  mud  were  washed  and  dried  by  a 
large  fire.  The  following  morning,  I  felt  really 
refreshed.  It  is  unnecessary  to  say  that  I  slept 
well  that  night.  At  an  early  hour  that  morning, 
the  alarm  of  "The  Yankees  are  coming.  They 
are  only  four  miles  from  here  and  Johnston  is 
retreating  towards  Canton."  Everybody  that 
could  get  away,  left.  The  quartermaster  had 
an  old  broken  down  horse,  which  he  tendered  me 
for  having  saved  his  fine  team,  and  I  left  the 
town  on  horse  back,  thanking  my  hostess  for  all 
her  kindness.  About  two  miles  from  Branton  I 
met  up  with  three  men  from  my  Company,  viz, 
A.  P.  Heath,  Jackson  O'Quinn  and  Harmon 
Fields.  They  were  not  in  the  fight,  having  been 
on  the  sick  list  and  not  fit  for  duty,  so  we  trav- 
eled together  for  some  distance.  We  reached  a 
settlement,  which  from  appearance,  belonged  to- 
well-to-do  people.  The  gentleman  of  the  prem- 
ises was  standing  at  the  gate  leading  to  the 
house.  I  said  to  my  comrades  that  I  would  have 
to  rest  and  recuperate  until  I  got  well,  so  I 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  113 

addressed  myself  to  the  proprietor,  "Sir,  can 
you  take  care  of  a  wounded  Confederate?  He 
put  his  hand  in  his  hip  pocket  in  quick  motion, 
as  if  to  draw  a  pistol,  but  instead  drew  a  small 
slate  and  pencil,  handed  it  to  me  with  a  motion 
to  write  my  request,  which  I  did.  He  rubbed  it 
out  and  wrote  swiftly  in  a  scholarly  style, 
"Nothing  I  have  is  too  good  for  a  Confederate 
soldier.  Walk  in — all  of  you."  His  name  was 
Williams,  unfortunately  deaf  and  dumb,  but 
very  intelligent.  His  family  consisted  of  a  wife 
and  two  daughters,  and  all  seemed  to  be  well 
educated  and  comfortably  situated.  They  were 
very  solicitous  in  their  attentions  to  us.  The 
girls  played  on  the  piano  while  I  entertained  the 
old  man,  by  writing  on  his  slate  my  experience 
of  the  previous  day.  He  looked  at  me  in  wonder, 
and  occasionally  took  hold  of  my  hand  and 
shook  it.  I  remained  his  guest  for  nearly  a 
week,  until  we  located  our  Company,  and  where 
to  meet  it.  I  got  entirely  well,  my  arm  was 
healing  nicely,  under  the  care  of  Mrs.  Williams. 
Our  forces  had  located  at  Canton.  He  sent  us 
mule-back  through  Pearl  River  Swamp  to  the 
Canton  road,  while  I  rode  my  horse.  He  re- 
fused to  take  any  remuneration  for  anything  he 
had  done  for  us,  so  I  sent  back  my  horse  with  a 


114  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

note  and  begged  him  to  accept  the  same  and 
thanking  them  all  for  what  they  had  done 
for  us. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

The  following  day  I  entered  camp  with  my 
comrades  among  great  cheers,  all  having 
thought  me  dead  or  a  prisoner.  Major  Martin 
asked  me  how  I  got  through.  I  told  him  I  took 
his  advice  and  did  the  best  I  could.  I  re- 
lated to  him  the  incidents  that  I  met  with. 
He  said,  "Well,  I  congratulate  you.  I  don't 
believe  one  in  a  thousand  would  have  escaped. ' ' 
"I  was  glad  I  was  the  one."  We  were  ordered 
to  strike  tents  at  Canton,  and  we  retraced  our 
steps  again  towards  Jackson,  a  distance  of  be- 
tween twenty  and  twenty-five  miles.  It  was  one 
of  the  hottest  days  of  the  season.  The  road  bed 
being  red  clay.  Our  forces  now  amounted  to 
about  eight  thousand"  men,  and  marching  in 
column  with  artillery,  wagon  train  and  all  the 
paraphernalia  appertaining  to  a  moving  army, 
raised  such  intense  dust  that  it  was  impossible 
to  recognize  one's  file-leader  in  his  immediate 
front.  Every  step  of  every  individual  raised 
clouds  of  dust,  which  lay  ankle  deep.  It  was 
actually  suffocating.  Men  and  horses  would 
gasp  for  breath.  The  men  occasionally  would 
expectorate  large  lumps  of  clay  that  settled  in 
their  throats,  and  no  water  to  be  had.  We  didn't 


116  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

pass  a  single  stream  of  any  kind.  It  was  a  forced 
march  to  get  in  the  enemy's  rear  and  to  cut  off 
re-inforcement  and  supplies  for  Grant's  invad- 
ing forces  onto  Vicksburg.  The  enemy  was  also 
making  back  to  Jackson  on  the  Clinton  Road 
which  ran  nearly  parallel  to  the  Canton  Road, 
and  we  could  see  their  advance  by  the  column  of 
dust  to  our  right.  Just  before  dark  a  very 
heavy  rain  and  thunder  storm  set  in.  It  was 
preferable  to  the  previous  conditions  of  the 
weather,  although  it  put  us  half  leg  deep  in 
sticky  red  mud.  It  got  so  dark  we  could  not 
see  anything  and  the  rain  continued  pouring 
down  in  all  its  fury.  It  was  nip  and  tuck  as  to 
which  army  would  reach  Jackson  first.  We  got 
there  just  a  little  ahead  of  the  enemy  in  time  to 
occupy  the  ditches  which  now  were  nearly  knee 
deep  in  water.  In  that  condition  we  passed  the 
night,  expecting  to  be  attacked  momentarily. 
Men  were  detailed  long  in  the  rear  to  cook 
rations  for  the  men  in  the  ditch,  which  were 
issued  along  the  line,  and  consisted  of  corn 
bread  cooked  (a  la  hate)  and  a  piece  of  fat 
bacon.  A  very  amusing  incident  happened  to 
one  of  my  comrades,  "W.  A.  Grimes,  who  early 
on  our  march,  and  before  the  dust  got  so  dense, 
had  to  step  aside  for  some  reason,  and  being 
detained  while  the  column  kept  onward,  threw 


WAE  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  117 

him  some  distance  behind  his  command.  The 
State  of  Georgia  had  sent  her  troops  some 
shoes;  the  description  of  my  draw  I  have 
already  stated,  and  some  white  wool  hats. 
Grimes  put  his  name  on  the  front  of  his  hat 
in  large  capital  letters,  and  as  he  hurried  to 
catch  up  with  his  command,  someone  hollowed 
as  he  passed,  "How  are  you  Bill  Grimes?" 
Grimes  stopped  in  surprise  to  see  who  knew  him 
in  some  other  command.  Others  took  up  the 
word  all  along  the  line  of  "How  are  you  Bill 
Grimes?"  Grimes  hurried  on,  on  his  way,  the 
perspiration  running  down  his  face,  which  had 
the  appearance  of  being  covered  with  a  mask. 
He  could  not  account  for  his  sudden  popular- 
ity until  he  pulled  off  his  hat  to  wipe  off  his  face. 
He  saw  his  name  on  his  hat  and  quickly  turned 
it  wrong  side  out.  His  name  had  passed  all 
along  the  column  faster  than  he  could  travel 
and  passed  Howell's  Battery  long  before  he 
caught  up  with  it.  Early  in  the  morning  the 
enemy  made  demonstrations  all  along  our  line 
and  was  repulsed.  It  had  quit  raining.  The 
artillery  kept  up  a  desultory  fire  for  eight  days 
and  nights.  The  enemy's  forces  were  at  least 
three  to  our  one  and  therefore,  could  relieve 
each  other,  while  we  were  obliged  to  be  kept 
continually  on  duty,  and  consequently  became 


118  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

exhausted,  my  eyes  were  blood  shot,  men 
loaded  and  fired  mechanically,  and  when  so 
exhausted  that  I  couldn't  stand  any  longer,  I 
dropped  beside  one  of  the  pieces  and  in  a  jiffy, 
was  asleep.  I  couldn't  even  hear  the  report  of 
the  guns  within  a  few  feet  of  me.  The  strain 
was  more  than  my  physique  could  stand.  I  got 
sick  and  unconscious,  and  when  I  came  to 
myself,  I  was  in  Yazoo  City  in  a  private  house, 
snugly  fixed,  and  a  kindly  lady  by  my  bedside, 
whose  name  was  Mrs.  Lyons.  She  cried  for 
joy  to  see  me  recover  my  senses.  I  asked  her 
where  I  was  and  how  long  I  had  been  there.  She 
said  just  a  week.  I  asked  her  what  place  it  was 
and  she  said  "Yazoo  City."  I  shall  always 
remember  gratefully  the  kind  treatment  I 
received  from  that  worthy  family,  and  when 
after  a  week's  convalescence,  I  took  my  leave 
with  many  thanks.  The  lady  said  she  hoped 
that  her  brother  who  was  in  the  Virginia  army 
would  in  case  of  sickness  receive  the  attention 
that  she  would  bestow  on  any  Confederate  sol- 
dier. Such  was  the  spirit  that  prevailed 
throughout  the  Confederate  States. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

I  rejoined  my  command  at  Morton  station 
on  the  M.  &  0.  Railroad.  The  object  of  the 
second  fight  at  Jackson,  as  I  understood  it,  was 
to  get  in  the  rear  of  the  investing  army  of 
Vicksburg  under  General  Grant.  General 
Joseph  E.  Johnston  expected  a  reinforcement, 
sufficient  so  as  to  cut  off  supplies  from  the 
invading  army,  and  to  attack  it  in  the  rear, 
while  General  Pemberton  might  make  a  sortie 
and  attack  it  in  the  front,  and  thus  save  Vicks- 
burg from  capture.  Our  reinforcement  never 
came.  We  then  moved  to  Vaughn  Station  and 
thus  hung  in  the  rear  of  Grant,  but  not  strong 
enough  to  venture  an  attack,  unless  in  concert 
with  General  Pemperton  who  was  defeated  at 
Big  Black  and  bottled  up  in  Vicksburg,  his 
stronghold.  A  very  sad  incident  happened  in 
our  camp.  Lieutenant  Ruben  Bland,  a  very 
kind  officer  and  beloved  by  all  his  men,  died.  His 
brother  Sim,  as  stated,  was  killed  at  the  first 
fight  at  Jackson.  They  were  very  much 
attached  to  each  other  and  brooding  over  his 
misfortune,  some  thought  he  took  opium  with 
suicidal  intent,  others  thought  otherwise.  The 
writer  was  sitting  on  a  box  on  the  railroad  plat- 


120  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

form,  smoking  his  pipe.  Close  to  the  platform 
stood  the  Company's  ambulance.  In  passing  me 
Lieutenant  Bland  remarked,  "Well,  Ike,  you 
seem  to  enjoy  your  pipe,"  I  answered,  "I  do, 
I  smoke  the  pipe  of  peace,"  he  smiled  and  said, 
"Yes,  everything  looks  peaceable  here,  I 
believe  I  am  going  to  take  a  nap  in  this  ambu- 
lance. ' '  About  a  quarter  of  an  hour  after,  Quin- 
ten  Dudley  who  was  Hospital  Steward,  had 
cause  to  get  some  medicine  out  of  the  medicine 
chest  that  Dr.  Stewart  kept  in  the  ambulance. 
He  immediately  gave  the  alarm  that  Lieutenant 
Bland  was  dead.  I  could  not  believe  it.  I 
jumped  off  the  platform  into  the  ambulance, 
and  there  lay  Lieutenant  Bland  stretched  out 
in  full  length,  his  face  purple.  Dr.  Stewart, 
who  at  once  was  on  hand  opened  an  artery  on 
top  of  his  head.  He  bled  freely.  He  tried  to 
get  up  artificial  respiration  by  working  his  arm 
back  and  forth,  but  to  no  avail.  Bland  was 
dead  beyond  recovery  and  mourned  by  every 
member  of  the  Company. 

It  was  on  a  very  warm  June  day  when  I  con- 
cluded to  have  a  general  cleaning  up.  It  must 
be  remembered  that  we  lost  all  of  our  personal 
effects,  which  we  destroyed  to  keep  them  from 
falling  into  the  enemy's  hands,  and  our  ward- 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  121 

robes  only  consisted  of  what  we  carried  on  our 
backs  and  filth  begot  what  we  called  " creepers", 
and  one  not  used  to  such  made  him  feel  most 
miserable,  so  I  took  a  camp  kettle  which  also 
served  for  our  culinary  purposes  to  boil  my 
clothes  in,  and  while  they  were  drying  in  the 
sun,  I  crept  into  the  bushes  in  the  shade  and  fell 
asleep.  During  my  repose  some  miscreant  stole 
my  shirt,  and  for  several  weeks  I  did  not  have  a 
shirt  on  my  back,  so  one  day  it  came  to  my 
knowledge  that  Gen.  W.  H.  T.  Walker,  our  Di- 
vision Commander,  having  been  promoted,  and 
Colonel  Claude  Wilson,  was  appointed  as  Brig- 
adier General  in  his  place,  offered  a  reward  of 
thirty  days  furlough  and  a  fine  saddle  horse  to 
ride  during  the  war  to  any  man  that  would 
carry  a  dispatch  to  General  Pemperton  who 
was  then  besieged  in  Vicksburg.  I  told  Ser- 
geant Hines  if  any  man  needed  a  furlough  I  did, 
in  the  fix  I  was  in.  I  believe  I  will  go  and  offer 
my  services.  He  laughed  and  said,  "Well,  good 
luck  old  fellow."  So  I  started  to  headquarters 
which  were  in  an  abandoned  farm  house,  about 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  distant  from  where  our  bat- 
tery was  in  camp.  I  walked  to  the  sentinel  who 
halted  me.  I  want  to  <see  Gen.  Walker.  "You 
can't  get  in."  "Call  the  officer  of  the  guard," 
says  I,  which  he  did  and  the  Lieutenant  came 


122  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

up.  I  stated  to  Mm  that  I  wanted  to  see  Gen. 
Walker.  ''Follow  me,"  says  he,  which  I  did. 
There  were  at  least  from  twenty  to  twenty-five 
officers  of  all  grades  sitting  in  a  large  room, 
engaged,  it  seemed  to  me,  in  social  conversa- 
tion. I  walked  'Straight  up  to  General  Walker 
and  stated  my  business,  and  what  I  had  heard 
he  offered  to  any  man  who  would  successfully 
carry  a  dispatch  to  General  Pemperton  at 
Vicksburg.  "I  thought,  if  any  man  needed  a 
furlough,  it  was  I."  Opening  my  jacket  which 
was  closely  buttoned,  although  it  was  a  hot  day 
in  July,  I  displayed  my  nakedness.  "I  have 
not  even,  as  you  see,  a  shirt  to  wear."  It 
raised  a  giggle  among  some  of  the  officers,  while 
others  looked  upon  me  in  sympathy.  I  stated 
how  I  lost  that  only  shirt  I  possessed.  Just  at 
that  time  entered  Major  Martin.  Recognizing 
me,  he  said,  "Hermann,  you  here?"  He 
seemed  rather  surprised.  I  stated  the  object  of 
my  visit.  He  turned  to  General  Walker,  saying, 
"General,  I  stand  sponsor  for  this  man.  He 
belongs  to  my  battery,  and  he  is  one  of  the  best." 
I  inclined  my  head  in  recognition  of  the  com- 
pliment paid  me,  and  he  extended  me  his  hand. 
In  the  meantime,  General  Walker  called  me  and 
said,  "You  see  that  small  trunk  in  yonder  cor- 
ner. Therein  is  my  wardrobe.  I  believe  I  have 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  123 

three  shirts  therein ;  that  is  all  I  have — I  divide 
— go  and  get  you  one.  We  are  about  the  same 
size.  I  hope  it  will  fit  you."  I  made  for  the 
little  hairy  trunk,  no  bigger  than  a  good  hand 
valise  and  slightly  oval,  opened  the  lid,  saying, 
"Beggars  ought  not  to  be  choosers.  I  will  take 
the  first  I  come  to,"  which  was  a  clean  white 
shirt,  with  cuffs  and  collars  attached.  Off  went 
my  jacket  in  the  presence  of  the  company ;  into 
the  garment  I  went,  feeling  a  thousand  per  cent, 
better.  I  said,  "Well,  General,  I've  heard  of 
some  stepping  into  other  men's  shoes,  but  never 
before  have  I  known  of  a  high  private  slipping 
into  a  General's  shirt  at  one  jump."  This 
brought  a  big  laugh  from  the  assembly,  the 
General  joining  heartily.  I  thanked  him  and 
extended  my  hand  in  token  of  my  appre- 
ciation. He  remarked,  "You  are  surely 
welcome,  come  around  tomorrow  at  eleven 
o'clock  A.  M.,  and  we  will  talk  matters 
over."  He  asked,  "Have  you  ever  been  to 
Vicksburg."  "No  Sir."  "Do  you  know  anj  - 
thing  about  the  country  around,  and  about  the 
City?"  "This  is  my  first  experience  in  these 
diggins."  "How  would  you  manage?"  "I'll 
be  governed  by  circumstances  as  they  present 
themselves."  After  a  pause  he  repeated, 
"Come  around  tomorrow  at  eleven  o'clock."  I 


124  MEMOEIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

gave  the  military  salute  and  started  towards  the 
door,  when  he  called  me  saying,  "Do  you  ever 
drink  anything?"  I  answered,  "General,  this  is 
a  strange  question.  Why  didn't  Jack  eat  his 
supper?  I've  not  seen  a  drop  since  we  left  Jack- 
son," and  I  stated  how  I  got  that.  He  laughed 
and  said,  "Go  in  that  room,"  indicating  the  door 
with  his  index  finger.  "You  will  find  a  table  in 
there  with  liquors,  I  think  a  good  drink  will  do 
you  good."  One  invitation  was  sufficient.  I 
stepped  into  the  next  room,  and  there  I  beheld 
a  round  table  loaded  with  all  kinds  of  bottles,- 
containing  different  liquors,  some  labeled  differ- 
ent kinds  of  whiskies,  brandies,  gin,  schedam, 
schnapps,  etc.  I  took  the  square  bottle  of  sche- 
dam and  poured  me  out  a  stiff  drink,  thanked 
the  General  and  departed  for  my  camp,  but  not 
being  in  the  habit  of  drinking,  I  felt  the  effects 
of  the  liquor.  I  felt  somewhat,  what  I  may  call 
buoyant,  and  in  for  any  fun.  I  met  Sergeant 
W.H.Hines.  He  said,  "Ike,  what  luck?"  "The 
best  in  the  world, ' '  'tapping  myself  on  the  breast. 
"You  see  that  shirt,  this  once  was  General  Wal- 
ker's, now  it's  mine."  I  told  him  all  that  passed 
at  headquarters.  The  next  day  I  reported  as 
directed.  The  General  said,  "Well,  Hermann, 
the  jig  is  up.  While  we  were  talking  about  the 
matter  yesterday,  Pemberton  surrendered,  and 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  125 

I  therefore  do  not  need  your  services. ' '  I  said, 
well,  I  wish  he  had  held  out  until  some  other  day 
than  the  fourth  of  July."  The  General  said, 

"Yes." 

As  I  started  to  camp,  the  General  said,  "Well, 
Hermann  I  thank  you  anyhow  for  your  offer 
and  you  shall  have  a  furlough  all  the  same.  I 
give  you  two  weeks.  I  hope  you  will  have  a  nice 
time."  Major  Martin  who  was  present  said 
also,  he  hoped  I  would  have  a  nice  time.  I 
replied,  "M'ajor,  I  have  not  a  cent  of  money, 
how  can  I  have  a  nice  time.  We  have  not  been 
paid  off  since  we  left  Savannah.  Have  you  some 
money?  If  so  I  would  like  to  borrow  until  I  get 
mine  from  the  Government."  He  said,  he  had 
a  fifty  dollar  bill.  If  it  would  do  me  any  good,  1 
could  have  it.  He  handed  me  the  bill  which  was 
then  worth  about  two  or  three  dollars  in  specie. 
Such  was  the  depreciation  of  our  currency.  I 
went  into  the  interior  about  ten  miles  from 
camp.  The  people  were  downcast.  They  did 
not  know  what  would  become  of  them.  Jackson, 
the  capital  of  the  State,  in  the  hands  of  the 
enemy.  Vicksburg,  a  large  and  well  fortified 
city  and  defended  by  a  large  army  had  surren- 
dered and  its  defenders  taken  prisoners.  The 
people  were  in  despair,  not  knowing  what  evil 


126  MEMOEIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

awaited  them.  I  soon  found  out  that  camp& 
among  the  boys  was  the  more  congenial  place 
for  me,  so  after  an  absence  of  three  days  I 
returned. 


CHAPTEE  XV. 

So  one  good  afternoon,  J.  B.  Thomas,  a  good' 
clever  comrade  and  good  soldier,  and  myself 
took  a  stroll  and  incidentally  looking  for  some- 
thing to  eat.  We  passed  a  vegetable  garden, 
a  luxury  we  -seldom  enjoyed.  On  the  side  of  the 
pailings  were  some  squashes.  Thomas  remark- 
ed, I  wish  I  had  some  of  them.  I  said,  "Well, 
slip  one  of  those  palings  and  get  a  few,  I'll  be  on 
the  watch  out."  No  sooner  said  than  done. 
Thomas  gathered  about  a  dozen  the  size  of  my 
fist.  He  stuck  them  in  his  shirt  bosom.  I  gave 
him  the  alarm  that  the  lady  was  watching  him. 
As  he  looked  up  he  saw  her  at  the  other  end  of 
the  garden.  He  started  through  the  opening  he 
had  made  quicker  than  a  rabbit  could  have  done 
when  pursued  by  hounds.  Thomas  is  a  man  of 
small  statue  and  very  short  legged,  but  he 
split  the  air  to  beat  the  band.  We  were  both 
in  our  shirt  sleeves,  no  vests,  only  wore  pants 
confined  around  the  waist  by  a  belt,  the  squashes 
were  bobbing  up  and  down  in  his  shirt,  as  he 
progressed  and  the  proprietress  after  him. 
Finally  the  squashes  lifted  the  shirt  out  of  his 
confines  and  down  came  the  squashes  rolling 
on  the  ground.  Thomas  did  not  stop,  but  cast- 


128  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

ing  a  regretful  side  glance  at  his  booty,  he  sped 
on  to  camp,  while  his  garment  was  floating  to 
the  breeze,  caused  by  his  velocity.  When  the 
woman  reached  the  spot  where  the  squashes  lay 
scattered,,  she  stopped,  looking  after  the  fleeing 
individual  and  sending  a  full  vocabulary  of 
invectives  after  him.  I  who  had  followed  leis- 
urely caught  up  while  she  gathered  her  squashes 
into  her  apron.  I  remarked,  "  Madam,  you  seem 
to  have  spilled  your  vegetables."  "No,  it  was 
not  me  that  spilled  them,  it's  that  good  for 
nothing  somebody,  there  he  runs — he  stole  them 
out  of  my  garden."  I  said,  "He  ought  not  to 
have  done  it,  if  I  knew  who  he  was  I  would 
report  him."  She  said,  "I  would  not  have 
minded  to  give  him  some  if  he  had  asked  me 
for  them,  but  I  don't  like  for  anybody  to  go  into 
my  garden  and  take  what  belongs  to  me. ' '  Poor 
^voman,  she  had  no  idea  that  within  a  few  days 
;after  our  departure,  the  enemy  would  appear 
and  not  only  appropriate  the  needful,  but 
iv^ould  destroy  all  the  rest  to  keep  her  from  en- 
joying any  of  it.  She  offered  me  some  of  the 
squashes  which  I  accepted  with  thanks.  I  car- 
ried them  to  Thomas,  saying  she  would  have 
given  you  some  if  you  had  asked  for  them. 
Thomas  replied,  he  wished  he  had  known  it. 


CHAPTEE  XVI. 

The  fall  of  Vicksburg  ended  the  Mississippi 
Campaign,  and  our  troops  were  ordered  to  join 
the  Army  of  Tennessee.  All  had  left  with  the 
exception  of  the  Mississippi  Eegiment  and  our 
battery  who  were  awaiting  transportation.  Our 
commissary  had  also  gone  ahead  of  us  and  so 
we  were  left  to  "root  hog  or  die."  We  had  to 
eat  once  in  awhile  any  how.  Quinton  Dudley 
and  myself  took  a  stroll  to  the  commissary  of 
the  Mississippi  Eegiment.  I  learned  that  his 
name  was  Coleman.  Passing  through  the  build- 
ing which  was  an  old  wooden  railroad  ware- 
house about  a  hundred  feet  long  and  forty  wider 
Quinton  picked  up  a  piece  of  rock  salt  from  a 
large  pile.  Captain  Coleman  saw  him  put  some- 
thing in  his  haversack.  In  a  brisk  manner,  saidr 
"What  is  that  you  have  taken?"  He  showed 
him  a  piece  of  salt  the  size  of  a  hen  egg.  "Put 
it  back,"  he  hollowed  at  him.  Quinton  threw 
it  back  on  the  pile  very  much  humiliated.  On 
our  leaving  the  building,  I  spied  on  the  platform 
at  the  other  end  of  the  warehouse  a  large  hogs- 
head full  of  smoked  meat  of  all  descriptions, 
there  were  sides,  shoulders  and  hams.  They 
looked  very  enticing  for  hungry  men  like  we 


130  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

were.  We  went  to  camp  and  reported  how  that 
Captain  had  caught  Quinton  who  was  very  timid 
and  did  not  like  to  be  caught  in  the  act.  Others 
felt  different  about  such.  We  were  entitled  to 
a  living  while  in  the  field  on  duty.  Some  sug- 
gested that  we  go  and  charge  the  commissary 
and  get  some  rations.  I  said,  "That  would 
bring  on  some  trouble.  Maybe  we  might  get 
some  of  that  meat  by  strategy,"  so  we  planned 
that  W.  N.  Harmon  should  take  ten  men  around 
and  about  the  warehouse,  while  I  would  engage 
the  Captain  in  conversation,  during  which  time 
Harmon  and  his  men  would  help  themselves  to 
rations.  I  awaited  an  opportune  moment  when 
Captain  Coleman  was  at  the  other  end  of  the 
building  from  where  the  hogshead  of  meat  stood. 
Entering  by  that  end,  I  walked  squarely  up  to 
>;the  Captain,  extending  my  hand.  "How  do 
you  do,  Captain  Colernan?  I'm  very  glad  to 
meet  you,  it  is  an  unexpected  pleasure.  How 
long  since  you  have  heard  from  home?"  He 
looked  at  me  in  surprise-,  holding  onto  my  hand. 
I  heard  some  meat  drop  on  the  ground.  I  knew 
the  meat  was  flying  campwards.  "Well."  said 
Capt.  Coleman,  "you  have  the  advantage  of  me.' 
"Don't  you  know  me?"  says  I?  He  replied, 
"Well,  your  face  is  familiar  to  me,  but  I  can't 
place  you.  Are  you  not  from  Emanuel  county, 


'Madam,  ha*;e  you  spilled  your  vegetables?" 
I  enquired 


WAB  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  131 

tjeorgia?"  "No,  but  I  have  some  kinfolks  in 
Georgia  with  my  name."  "Well,  then  I  am 
mistaken  and  beg  your  pardon."  "We  have  a 
lake  on  the  Ogeechee  River  called  Coleman's 
Lake.  I  went  there  often  for  fishing,  and  was 
sure  you  were  one  of  the  Colemans  that  lived 
there  when  at  home.  You  favor  them  very 
much."  "Well,  said  he,  they  may  be  some  kin 
to  me."  By  that  time,  between  thirty  and  forty 
pieces  of  meat  had  changed  hands.  The  next 
morning  transportation  came,  and  we  loaded 
the  cars  which  carried  us  to  the  Tennessee 
Army,  then  under  the  command  of  General 
Bragg,  who  was  then  retreating,  leaving  Ten- 
nessee to  the  tender  care  of  the  Federals,  under 
command  of  General  E-osencrantz.  Our  forces 
took  a  stand  around  and  about  Lookout  Moun- 
tain and  Chickamauga.  We  struck  camp  some 
distance  from  the  main  forces  after  unloading 
the  train  and  watering  and  feeding  the  horses. 
The  boys  took  a  swim  in  the  river,  a  luxury  not 
realized  for  many  days  past.  I  was  detailed  to 
cut  underbrush  in  the  woods  to  assist  stretch- 
ing ropes  to  corral  our  horses.  I  was  not  quite 
as  green  in  handling  an  axe  by  this  time  as  I 
was  in  Virginia,  when  I  was  detailed  to  cut  wood 
for  the  blacksmith  shop.  I  was  again  taken  sick 
with  risings  in  my  ear.  I  suffered  as  only  those 


132  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

who  ever  suffered  with  such  affliction  knew 
how  to  extend  their  sympathy.  The  pains  were 
simply  excruciating  and  threw  me  into  hot  fever. 
We  were  ordered  to  strike  camps.  We  marched 
that  forenoon  until  eleven  o'clock.  The  sun 
was  shining  in  full  force.  I  could  no  longep 
keep  up.  I  stopped  by  the  roadside  and  lay 
down,  waiting  for  the  Company's  baggage 
wagon  to  come  along.  Lorenzo  Stephens  was 
the  driver.  After  awhile  he  appeared  on  foot. 
One  of  the  rear  axles  of  his  wagon  having  bro- 
ken, he  therefore  hurried  forward  to  get  some 
assistance.  In  the  meantime,  the  ambulance 
came  along  in  charge  of  the  Company  surgeon. 
He  had  me  picked  up  and  placed  in  it.  He  said 
I  had  high  fever  and  gave  me  some  medicine, 
and  as  we  passed  the  station  of  a  railroad,  the 
name  of  which  I  did  not  know,  I  was  put  on  the 
train  with  others  and  sent  to  the  Atlanta  Hos- 
pital, in  charge  of  Dr.  Paul  Eve,  of  Augusta, 
Dr.  Eosser  being  in  charge  of  my  ward.  I  was 
suffering  terribly,  both  of  my  ears  were  dis- 
charging corruption.  Through  suffering  and 
hardship,  my  general  health  was  giving  away. 
I  needed  rest  and  time  to  recuperate.  Medi- 
cines were  hard  to  get,  and  I  was  slow  in  recov- 
ering my  strength.  One  day  Dr.  Rosser  asked 
me  if  I  would  like  to  have  a  furlough.  He 


WAS  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  133 

thought  it  would  help  me.  I  said, ' '  Yes,  the  best 
in  the  world,  as  soon  as  I  can  gain  a  little 
strength, "  so  he  and  Dr.  Eve  came  to  my  cot  the 
following  morning,  and  after  examining  my 
condition,  departed.  Dr.  Eosser  came  again  in 
the  afternoon  and  handed  me  a  thirty  days  fur- 
lough. I  was  very  grateful  to  him.  He  was  a 
perfect  gentleman,  hard  working  and  sympa- 
thetic. I  came  home  to  my  foster  mother,  Mrs. 
Jas.  L.  Braswell,  under  whose  care  I  soon 
gained  strength. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Before  leaving  the  hospital  I  requested 
Dr.  Bosser  to  inform  my  Captain  of  my 
whereabouts  and  of  my  physical  condition, 
which  he  promised  he  would  do,  and  I  have  no 
doubts  he  did.  "While  at  home  I  also  corre- 
sponded with  some  of  my  comrades.  I  enjoyed 
my  furlough  at  Fenns  Bridge  among  my  friends. 
Colonel  Sol.  Newsome,  Hudson  W.  Sheppard, 
Bennett  Hall,  W.  J.  Lyons,  Daniel  Inman  and 
others,  who  came  after  their  mail  and  inciden- 
tally brought  their  fishing  tackle  and  guns  to 
fish  and  hunt  in  the  Ogeechee  river  and  swamp. 
In  the  meantime  discussing  the  ups  and  downs 
of  the  men  in  the  field.  The  above  named  citi- 
zens were  all  slave  owners  and  above  the  requi- 
site age  for  military  duty.  It  was  quite  a  pas- 
time for  me  to  hear  them  discuss  among  them- 
selves the  politics  of  that  day,  for  be  it  under- 
stood they  were  not  exactly  a  unit  in  sentiment 
as  regards  secession.  They  were  about  equally 
divided;  some  for  the  union,  while  those  who 
differed  brought  some  of  the  most  convincing 
arguments  to  my  mind  to  bear  on  the  situation, 
and  although  young  in  the  cause  of  politics,  I 
was  obliged  to  take  sides  with  them,  as  a  matter 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  135 

of  right,  as  we  saw  it.  Those  who  opposed  did 
not  question  our  right,  but  differed  as  to  the 
policy  pursued.  They  contended  that  we  were 
wrong  in  judgment  as  the  sequel  had  proven. 
In  fact,  we  were  not  prepared  for  such  tre- 
mendous onslaughts  as  we  had  to  meet,  and  we 
believed  and  had  reliance  on  our  so-called 
friends  across  Mason  and  Dixon  line,  which 
proved  to  be  as  bitter  as  the  rankest  abolition- 
ists. One  morning,  Mr.  Brantley  came  up  and 
brought  the  Georgian,  a  county  news  paper,  say- 
ing, "Hermann,  your  name  is  in  this  paper."  I 
said,  "Is  it?"  "Listen." 

"The  following  men  are  absent  from  their 
Commands  without  leave,  and  should  they  not 
immediately  report  for  duty,  they  will  be  re- 
ported as  deserters:  J.  J.  Sheppard,  I.  Her- 
mann and  others  whose  names  I  have  forgotten, 
It  was  signed  Captain  Evan  P.  Howell,  com- 
manding battery.  I  said,  "Gentlemen,  it  is  a 
lie,  and  here  is  the  proof,  showing  my  sick  fur- 
lough from  Dr.  Paul  Eve."  Mr.  Lyons  then 
spoke  up,  "Well,  what  are  you  going  to  do 
about  it?"  I  walked  into  cousin  Abe's  store, 
took  a  sheet  of  paper  and  addressed,  Mr.  J.  N.  G. 
Metlock,  Editor  of  the  Sandersville  Georgian," 


136  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

11  My  dear  sir : — 

In  perusing  your  previous  issue  I  noted  Capt. 
Evan  P.  Howell's  advertisement,  which  among 
others  I  was  named  as  one  absent  without  leave, 
and  should  I  not  report  immediately  to  my  com- 
mand, he  would  publish  me  as  a  deserter.  Now 
in  simple  justice  to  myself,  I  wish  to  inform 
Capt.  Howell,  as  well  as  the  public,  that  his 
statement  is  false,  that  I  have  a  furlough  grant- 
ing me  leave  of  absence  and  that  under  no  con- 
sideration would  I  be  away  from  my  command, 

Very  respectfully, 

I.  Hermann. 
At  Home. 

P.  S. — Please  forward  copy  of  your  next  issue 
to  Captain  Howell  and  charge  expenses  to  me." 

I  returned  to  my  friends  and  said,  "Gentle- 
men, this  is  my  reply,  and  when  my  time  is  up, 
I  shall  report,  either  to  Dr.  Paul  Eve,  or  Cap- 
tain Howell."  Colonel  Sol  Newsome  tapped 
me  on  the  shoulder,  saying,  "Hurrah,  Hurrah 
for  you,  Hermann. "  In  a  few  days  later,  Ser- 
geant W.  H.  Hines,  and  four  men  of  my  Com- 
pany came  to  arrest  me.  I  said  to  them,  "You 
can't  do  it  as  long  as  I  have  authority  to  remain 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  137 

here,"  and  showed  them  my  furlough,  which 
lacked  about  two  weeks  of  having  expired.  They 
were  all  glad  I  was  properly  fixed  and  so 
expressed  themselves.  They  were  also  glad  of 
the  opportunities  they  had  to  call  upon  their 
respective  families,  which  they  would  not  have 
had  otherwise. 

From  Fenns  Bridge  I  went  to  Macon  to  spend 
a  few  days  with  a  cousin  who  lived  there.  As  I 
walked  the  street  one  named  Colson  who 
belonged  to  the  Provost  Guard  came  up  saying, 
"Ike  old  fellow,  I  have  orders  to  arrest  you." 
"What  for,  Colson?"  He  answered,  he  did  not 
know.  "Who  gave  you  the  orders?"  He  said 
' '  Major  Roland. "  "  Let  us  go  up  and  see  him. '  * 
We  walked  up  from  Cherry  Street  to  Triangu- 
lar block,  where  Roland,  who  was  commander 
of  the  Post,  had  his  headquarters.  The  room 
was  full  of  men  and  officers,  among  whom  I  rec- 
ognized Captain  Napier,  who  had  lost  a  limb  in 
Virginia;  the  rest  were  all  strangers  to  me. 
Major  Eoland  addressed  himself  to  me  "What 
can  I  do  for  you?"  "You  had  me  arrested." 
Colson  was  standing  there ;  I  looked  at  him ;  he 
said  "You  gave  me  the  orders."  "What  is  your 
name  ? "  "  Isaac  Hermann. ' '  Roland  brightened 
up;  "You  are  the  fellow  I  was  after;  you  are 


138  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

reported  as  a  deserter."  I  pulled  my  furlough, 
which  was  somewhat  dilapidated  from  constant 
wear  and  tear ;  he  scrutinized  it  closely,  handing 
it  back  to  me,  saying,  "This  paper  is  forged; 
some  brother  countryman  fixed  it  up  for  you. ' ' 
"You  are  a  liar,"  I  said.  Quick  as  lightning 
he  grabbed  and  drew  his  sword,  which  was  lying 
on  the  table,  exclaiming  as  he  faced  me,  "I  am 
an  officer."  In  the  meantime  I  executed  a  half 
about,  drawing  my  pistol,  saying:  "I  am  a  pri- 
vate; if  you  make  a  move  I'll  put  daylight 
through  you."  And  there  we  stood,  facing  each 
other  for  a  few  seconds,  when  one  of  the  officers 
in  the  room  approached  me,  saying  in  a  whisper, 
"Put  up  your  pistol,  I  am  your  friend." 
"Who  are  you?"  "I  am  Paton  Colquitt,  Col- 
onel of  the  46th  Ga.  Reg't.,  stationed  at 
Charleston,  S.  C.,  I  am  on  my  way  to  my  com- 
mand, but  intend  now  to  remain  to  see  you  out, ' ' 
I  extended  my  hand  and  he  shook  it  heartily. 
Major  Roland  looked  very  pale ;  the  rest  of  the 
company  present  looked  on  with  interest. 
Eoland  ordered  a  Sergeant  and  four  men  as  a 
guard  to  escort  me  to  the  guard  house.  I  said 
"I'll  die  first,  right  here,  before  I'll  march 
through  Macon,  guarded  like  a  horse  thief.  I 
have  not  done  anything  to  be  arrested  for;  I 
am  known  in  Macon  and  will  not  submit  to  any 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  139 

such  indignity."  Colonel  Colquitt  stepped  up 
to  the  table,  saying,  "Will  you  take  me  as  spon- 
sor for  this  gentleman,  to  report  at  any  place 
you  may  designate,  without  a  guard?"  Roland 
could  not  refuse,  so  trembling  he  wrote  me  (a 
billet  de  logement) :  "To  the  Officer  in  Com- 
mand at  the  Calaboose :  Admit  the  Bearer.  By 
order  of  Major  Roland,  Commanding  Provost 
Post,  Macon,  Georgia."  Before  calling  at  the 
prison  I  passed  to  where  my  cousin  lived.  I 
stated  what  had  happened,  so  that  she  would  not 
look  for  me,  as  I  was  stopping  at  her  house. 
She  was  much  distressed  and  feared  personal 
harm  would  befall  me.  I  reassured  her  the  best 
I  knew  how  and  requested  her  to  let  me  have  a 
blanket,  if  she  could  spare  one,  so  that  I  could 
sleep  on  it  that  night.  I  rolled  the  blanket,  tied 
the  ends  together  with  a  string  and  drew  it 
across  my  shoulder.  On  the  way  I  thought  of 
the  threat  Captain  Howell  made  at  Bryant 
County,  Camp  Arnold,  when  Sergt.  Hines 
reported  to  me  what  he  said,  that  he  would  get 
me  yet.  I  was  mad ;  I  was  honor  bound  to  report 
at  the  calaboose.  Col.  Colquitt  was  my  spon- 
sor, I  could  not  go  back  on  him.  Finally  I 
arrived  at  the  prison,  an  old  building,  about 
25  by  40;  it  might  have  been  used  as  a  stable. 
I  presented  my  ticket  for  admittance,  the  offi- 


140  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

cer  looked  at  it,  read  it,  then  looked  at  me  and 
smiled,  and  said,  "Well,  this  is  unusual."  I 
disengaged  myself  of  the  blanket,  as  he  unlocked 
the  door.  The  room  was  packed  with  men, 
among  them  some  Yankees,  or  some  in  Federal 
uniforms.  As  the  door  was  locked  behind  me 
one  of  the  inmates  hollowed.  "There  is  a  new 
comer,  he  must  sing  us  a  song;"  I  remarked, 
I  rather  felt  like  fighting  than  singing  just  now, 
when  a  big  strapping  fellow  presented  himself, 
with  his  coat  off,  saying,  as  he  put  himself  in  a 
fighting  attitude,  "Here  is  your  mule;"  I  an- 
swered as  I  hit  him,  "Here  is  your  rider."  I 
struck  him  such  an  unexpected  blow  that  it 
stunned  him,  when  he  said  he  had  enough, 
as  I  was  to  double  him.  He  apologized,  say- 
ing he  was  just  funning;  I  answered  and 
said,  "I  meant  it,  and  you  believe  it  now; 
I  am  obliged  to  you  for  having  given  me 
this  opportunity,  for  I  have  been  badly 
treated."  I  need  not  say  that  I  was  respect- 
fully treated  by  the  rest  of  the  inmates.  And 
while  room  to  lay  down  was  at  a  premium,  I  had 
all  I  needed  for  that  purpose.  The  following 
morning  at  the  break  of  day,  my  name  was 
called  at  the  wicket;  I  answered.  The  door 
swung  open  and  there  stood  Col.  Colquitt,  smil- 
ing. "Well,  you  are  a  free  man";  "How  did 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  141 

you  do  it!"  "Ask  me  no  questions  and  I'll  tell 
you  no  lies."  I  said,  "Let  me  get  my  blanket 
I  borrowed  on  the  way."  He  answered:  "The 
train  that  will  carry  me  to  my  regiment  will 
leave  in  half  an  hour,  and  I  have  done  what  I 
intended  before  going ;  I  wish  I  had  a  thousand 
men  like  you,  and  I  would  walk  through  Yan- 
keedom."  I  thanked  him  heartily  for  what  he 
said  and  did,  promising  never  to  forget  it,  and 
I  never  have.  We  walked  some  distance  together, 
the  atmosphere  was  chilly,  and  I  proposed  to 
him  if  he  would  accept  a  treat  from  me  in  the 
way  of  a  drink;  he  said,  "With  great  pleasure." 
We  found  a  place  on  our  way 'to  the  depot, 
which  was  not  very  far,  as  the  Calaboose  was 
situated  a  little  back  of  the  Brown  House,  and 
we  drank  a  drink  of  as  mean  potato  whiskey, 
the  only  kind  the  men  had,  at  one  dollar  a  dram, 
that  was  ever  distilled. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

As  matters  now  stood,  I  was  determined 
not  to  return  to  my  Company  until  I  was 
entirely  recovered  to  my  usual  health.  So 
I  reported  to  Dr.  Green  in  charge  of  the 
Floyd  House  Hospital  for  treatment.  He 
asked  me  what  was  the  matter  with  me ;  I  told 
him  I  did  not  know.  He  stripped  me  and  made 
a  thorough  examination,  and  when  he  got 
through  he  said,  "You  have  an  enlargement  of 
the  heart,  and  ought  not  to  be  exposed."  He 
prescribed  for  me,  and  I  reported  to  him  daily 
until  my  furlough  had  expired.  I  felt  a  great 
deal  better  and  was  about  ready  to  return  to 
my  command,  but  Dr.  Green  advised  me  not  to 
do  it  yet  awhile.  I  said,  "My  furlough  is  out;" 
He  said,  "That  does  not  make  any  difference, 
you  are  under  my  charge  for  the  present. ' '  In 
the  meantime  Major  Roland  was  removed  as 
Commander  of  the  Post  at  Macon  and  Col. 
Aiken  was  appointed  in  his  stead.  While  in  the 
Hospital  I  made  myself  useful,  and  Dr.  Green 
appointed  me  General  Ward-Master.  My  duties 
were  to  look  over  the  entire  wards  and  see  that 
those  under  me  did  their  duty,  and  that  all 
inmates  were  properly  attended  to.  One  good 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  143 

morning  Sergt.  Haywood  Ainsworth  came  to 
me,  saying,  "Ike  I  have  in  my  possession  a  let- 
ter for  the  Commander  of  the  Post,  Col.  Aiken, 
from  Capt.  Evan  P.  Howell ;  he  is  giving  you  the 
devil ;  he  sent  me  after  you.  *If  you  go  with  me 
to  the  command  I  will  not  deliver  it."  I  said, 
"Haywood,  do  you  know  what  he  writes  in  that 
letter?"  "No,  not  exactly,  but  it  is  very 
severe."  "I'd  like  to  see  what  he  says." 
"Have  you  seen  Col.  Aiken;  does  he  know 
you?"  No.  "I  will  tell  you  what  we  will  do; 
you  give  me  the  letter  and  I  will  deliver  it 
myself ;  you  can  see  that  I  do  it,  he  will  not  know 
me  from  you,  as  he  does  not  know  either  of  us." 
Ainsworth  laughed  and  says,  "Well  as  you 
say."  So  we  both  marched  up  to  the  Provost 
Marshal's  office.  Col.  Aiken  was  sitting  in  a  chair 
at  his  desk.  I  walked  up  to  him,  gave  him  the 
military  salute,  handed  him  the  letter  and  took 
my  position  behind  his  chair,  looking  over  his 
shoulder  as  he  read  the  letter.  Capt.  Howell  did 
not  at  all  times  write  a  very  legible  hand  for  one 
not  used  to  his  writing ;  hence  I  being  used  to  it, 
got  through  before  the  Colonel  did,  I  took  a  lit- 
tle step  to  my  left  and  rear,  awaiting  Col. 
Aiken 's  orders.  * '  Sergeant,  where  is  the  man  ? " 
asked  he.  "He  is  in  the  Floyd  house  hospital, 
in  charge  of  Dr.  Green. "  "Is  he  sick."  "I  sup- 


144  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

pose  so."  "Then  he  is  under  proper  authority,  I 
can  do  nothing  in  this  case,  as  it  stands.  You 
go  and  see  Dr.  Green  and  ask  him  if  Hermann 
is  well  enough  to  \  be  discharged  and  go  to 
camp.  If  so  and  he  refuses  to  go,  come  to  me 
and  I  will  give  the  necessary  assistance  re- 
quired." I  thanked  him,  saying,  "Col.  I  do  not 
think  there  will  be  any  necessity  for  me  ta 
trouble  you  further,"  and  Haywood  and  myself 
left,  laughing  all  the  way.  Sergt.  Ainsworth 
then  said,  Well  Ike,  you  are  a  good  one,  I  know 
you  won't  give  me  away.  I  said,  You  surely 
do  not  think  that  of  me.  Oh  no !  I  have  all  con- 
fidence in  you.  Well,  what  are  you  going  to  do  T 
I  will  go  back  with  you ;  I  shall  face  the  gentle- 
man and  tell  him  what  I  think  of  him.  What 
was  in  the  letter,  what  did  he  say?  He  stated 
in  the  letter  that  I  was  a  very  desperate  charac- 
ter; that  I  left  in  time  of  battle;  that  he  had 
used  all  his  efforts  to  get  me  back  to  my  com- 
mand, and  had  failed.  To  please  give  Sergt, 
Ainsworth  all  necessary  assistance  to  accom- 
plish that  object.  Continuing,  I  said,  Haywoodr 
you  like  to  go  home;  so  do  I.  Suppose  we  ga 
to  Washington  county  for  a  few  days,  say  until 
Friday.  You  living  in  town  put  a  notice  in  the 
paper,  stating  that  you  will  return  to  our  camp 
which  is  now  at  Dalton,  and  will  take  pleasure 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  145 

in  forwarding  anything  that  may  be  sent  to  the 
hoys  from  their  friends  and  families.  Sergt. 
Ainsworth  said,  That  is  a  good  idea.  I  said, 
Well  I  will  meet  you  at  Tennille  Friday  on  the 
night  train.  But  before  we  go,  I  must  have  the 
approval  of  Dr.  Green,  under  whose  charge  I 
now  am;  so  we  went  to  see  Dr.  Green:  I 
stated  to  him  that  I  would  like  to  return  to  my 
command.  He  said,  You  are  not  well  enough 
to  do  camp  duty.  I  said,  Well,  under  circum- 
stances as  they  are,  I  am  willing  to  take  my 
chances.  I  stated  to  him  the  facts  as  they  were, 
in  the  presence  of  Sergt.  Ainsworth,  who  co- 
incided to  everything  I  said.  Then  I  remarked, 
Doctor,  you  have  been  very  kind  to  me,  and 
done  me  lots  of  good,  for  which  I  am  very  grate- 
ful, but  I  can't  rest  under  such  imputation;  I 
intend  to  straighten  matters  out.  So  he  said, 
Well,  if  I  can  do  anything  for  you  or  be  any 
service  to  you,  let  me  know  what  it  is  and  I  will 
be  glad  to  do  it.  I  said,  All  I  want  is  for  you 
to  give  me  a  statement  under  what  condition  I 
placed  myself  under  your  care,  and  the  date  of 
my  admittance  and  discharge,  and  your  opin- 
ion as  to  my  present  condition  for  active  ser- 
vice. He  said  he  would  do  that,  he  would  make 
a  statement  and  have  it  ready  in  an  hour.  In 
the  meantime  Sergt.  Ainsworth  and  myself 


146  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

took  a  stroll  through  the  city.  I  told  my  rela- 
tives and  friends  good  bye.  We  returned  to  the 
hospital,  they  were  all  sorry  I  left  them.  Doc- 
tor Green  gave  me  the  papers  I  required,  I  put 
them  in  my  pocket  unopened.  He  said,  If  there 
is  anything  else  you  need,  let  me  know.  I 
thanked  him  very  kindly,  and  we  left  for  Was!1 
ington  county.  Sergt.  Ainsworth  said  to  mey 
Dr.  Green  seems  to  think  a  great  deal  of  you; 
he  seems  to  be  a  perfect  gentleman.  I  said,  Yes,, 
everybody  who  comes  in  contact  with  him  likes 
him;  he  is  a  very  conscientious  Doctor  and 
is  very  attentive  to  his  business.  Friday  night 
I  took  the  train  at  Davisboro;  I  had  about  a 
dozen  boxes  for  the  boys  in  camp,  under  my 
charge  at  Tennille.  Sergt.  Ainsworth  met  me 
with  as  many  more  boxes,  and  we  travelled  to 
Dalton ;  it  took  us  two  nights  and  a  day  to  get 
there.  It  was  Sunday  morning  early,  when  we 
reached  camp.  The  boys  were  all  glad  to  see 
us,  we  delivered  our  trust  and  there  was  plenty 
of  good  things  to  eat  in  camp,  in  consequence  of 
our  forethought.  During  my  absence  from  camp 
Dr.  Stewart  was  transferred  and  Dr.  Beau- 
champ  took  his  place.  I  had  never  seen  him 
before,  so  I  at  once  reported  to  him,  gave  him 
my  papers  from  Dr.  Green  and  he  at  once 
relieved  me  from  active  duty.  Then  I  stated  to- 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  14? 

him  why  I  had  returned  to  camp,  and  the  feud 
that  existed  between  Capt.  Howell  and  myself, 
and  what  he  had  done  and  said.  So  I  was 
determined  to  face  the  worst.  I  walked  about 
that  day  among  the  boys  in  camp,  all  of  whom 
were  my  friends;  if  I  had  an  enemy  in  camp 
outside  of  Capt.  Howell,  I  did  not  know  it. 
About  four  o'clock  p.  m.  I  bethought  myself 
since  I  was  not  arrested  after  the  awful  charges 
having  been  made  against  me,  I  had  probably 
better  report  my  presence,  although  every  one 
in  camp,  Captain  included,  knew  I  was  there. 
So  I  just  met  Sergt.  Hines,  being  very  intimate 
with  him,  I  said,  Bill,  you  want  to  have  some 
fun?  Come  with  me,  I  am  going  to  report  at 
headquarters;  since  all  that  hullabaloo  I  am 
still  unmolested.  The  officers  quarters  were 
about  one  hundred  yards  up  on  a  ridge  from 
where  the  pieces  were  parked.  Capt.  Howell 
was  sitting  in  front  of  his  tent.  I  gave  him  the 
salute,  saying,  Well,  here  I  am.  He  answered, 
I  thought  I  never  would  see  you  again.  I  said 
probably  you  would  not,  if  it  had  not  been  for 

some  d d  lies  written  to  Col.  Aiken,  Provost 

Marshal  at  Macon.  Who  wrote  them1?  Capt. 
Evan  P.  Howell,  Comdg.  Battery.  If  you  think 
that  I  am  afraid  of  powder  and  ball,  try  me  ten 
steps.  Do  you  mean  it  as  a  challenge1?  You 


148  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

are  an  officer;  I  am  a  private;  it  is  for  you  to 
construe  it  as  you  see  fit.  I'll  have  you  court- 
martialed  and  shot.  I  dare  you  to  do  it.  In  the 
meantime  Sergt.  Hines  was  swinging  to  my 
jacket  and  we  withdrew.  So  Hines  said,  If 
I  had  known  that  you  would  get  mad  that  way 
I  would  not  have  come  with  you.  So  I  remarked, 
I  wanted  you  to  come  and  be  a  witness,  as  to 
what  should  pass  between  him  and  me.  A  half 
hour  later  Sergt.  Hines  came  to  me,  saying,  Ike, 
you  are  on  duty  tonight.  By  whose  orders? 
Capt.  Howell 's.  I  said,  It  is  not  a  rule  to  put  a 
man  on  guard  duty  who  had  passed  two  nights 
in  succession  without  sleep,  he  might  fall  asleep 
on  his  post.  However,  I  did  not  come  here  to 
do  duty,  I  merely  came  to  see  what  punishment 
Capt.  Howell  would  inflict  on  me,  as  he  stated 
that  I  deserted;  and  again,  I  am  relieved  from 
duty  by  Dr.  Beauchamp.  Sergt.  Hines  made  his 
report.  I  saw  Capt.  Howell  hastily  walk  over  to 
Dr.  Beauchamp 's  quarters  and  expostulated 
with  him  as  to  my  ability  of  doing  duty,  thus 
impugning  the  Doctor's  capacity  as  a  physician, 
he  who  after  a  thorough  examination  having 
passed  on  my  condition;  I  heard  Dr.  Beau- 
champ  speaking  in  a  loud  voice :  ' i  Capt.  How- 
ell, if  you  would  attend  to  your  duty  as  faith- 
fully as  I  do  mine  you  would  get  along  better 


WAB  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  149 

with  your  men. ' '  Howell  replied  that  he  would 
have  me  examined  by  a  Board  of  Physicians. 
That's  all  right,  that  is  exactly  what  Hermann 
asked  me  to  have  done  and  I  have  already  set 
him  down  to  meet  the  Board  at  Dalton  on  next 
Wednesday.  In  the  meantime  Dr.  Beauchamp 
treated  me  and  I  reported  to  him  daily,  when 
able  to  be  up;  if  not  he  came  to  my  quarters. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Wednesday  came,  the  day  I  was  to  report  before 
the  Board;  I  was  not  feeling  as  well  as  I  had 
a  day  or  so  previous.  I  went  to  Bell,  our  ambu- 
lance driver,  saying  Joe,  I  have  to  meet  the 
Board  today  at  Dalton,  you  will  have  to  carry 
me  there.  He  answered  he  could  not  do  it  as 
he  had  orders  from  Capt.  Howell  to  have  the 
ambulance  ready  for  him,  as  he  wanted  to  make 
a  social  call,  so  I  said  no  more.  Dr.  Beau- 
champ  who  saw  me  walking  about  in  camp,  came 
to  me  saying,  I  thought  you  were  going  to  Dal- 
ton today.  I  said  I  would  go  but  Mr.  Bell  said 
the  Capt.  engaged  the  ambulance  to  go  on  a 
social  call;  I  thought  that  vehicle  belonged  to 
your  department  and  is  intended  for  the  sick 
only.  So  it  is,  says  the  Doctor,  and  I  am  going 
to  see  about  it.  I  said,  Doctor,  I  do  not  feel 
well  enough  to  walk  three  miles  and  back  today. 
In  a  few  minutes  Joe  Bell  drove  up  with  the 
ambulance,  saying,  Ike,  get  ready,  I  will  drive 
you  to  town.  So  I  went  before  the  field  Board 
of  Surgeons  and  Physicians.  Dr.  Beauchamp 
had  sent  in  his  report  of  me,  and  I  was  pro- 
nounced unfit  for  active  duty  and  discharged 
from  service  on  account  of  ill  health.  This 


WAB  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  151 

action  took  me  from  under  the  jurisdiction  of 
Capt.  Howell,  greatly  to  my  relief.  I  thanked 
the  Board,  saying,  Gentlemen,  I  enlisted  for 
the  war,  and  at  times  I  am  able  to  do  some  duty. 
There  are  other  duties  besides  standing  guard, 
camping  out  and  shooting.  I  am  willing  to  do 
anything  I  am  able  to  do.  About  that  time 
Major  Martin  came  in,  undoubtedly  sent  there 
by  Capt.  Howell.  After  speaking  to  the  Doctors 
he  turned  to  me,  we  shook  hands  and  he  said, 
"Well  Hermann,  take  good  care  of  yourself,  I 
hope  you  will  recover  and  get  entirely  well ;  you 
have  been  badly  treated,  I  am  sorry  to  say. 
Good  bye.  We  again  shook  hands,  he  mounted 
his  horse  and  departed  at  a  gallop.  The  Board 
gave  me  an  order  to  report  to  Gen.  E.  K.  Smith, 
who  was  then  in  Atlanta,  doing  post  duty.  He 
asked  me  how  long  I  had  been  on  the  sick  list, 
and  I  replied  about  three  months.  He  said,  Can 
you  do  any  office  work;  I  answered  I  did  not 
know  to  what  kind  of  work  he  would  assign  me 
to.  He  said,  Can  you  write?  I  told  him  yes; 
so  he  put  me  to  copying  some  documents,  which 
I  did  to  his  satisfaction.  The  desk  at  which  he 
put  me  to  work  was  breast  high  and  I  had  to 
stand  up.  The  following  day  I  was  suffering 
so  I  could  not  do  anything,  and  I  had  no  more 
medicine.  The  next  day  I  felt  worse.  Dr.  G. 


152  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

G.  Crawford  called  in  the  office;  he  was  in 
charge  of  the  fair  ground  hospital.  General 
Smith  said,  Doctor,  what  is  the  matter  with 
this  man;  since  yesterday,  he  seems  to  be  suf- 
fering very  much.  Dr.  Crawford  spoke  to  me 
and  asked  what  my  complaint  was.  I  told  him 
I  was  suffering  in  my  chest,  and  I  was  trying  to 
write  at  that  desk  and  grew  worse.  He  said, 
You  are  a  Frenchman?  I  said  Yes.  He  said 
he  could  tell  it  from  my  brogue.  And  he  then 
talked  French  to  me  and  told  me  he  studied 
medicine  in  Paris,  and  having  lived  there  my- 
self our  conversation  grew  interesting  to  both 
of  us.  So  he  turned  to  General  Smith  and  said 
General,  I  think  I  can  help  him  considerably, 
even  if  I  can't  cure  him.  So  General  said, 
"  Hermann,  you  go  with  Dr.  Crawford,  he  will 
take  charge  of  you.  And  we  left  together  for 
the  fair  ground  hospital,  a  temporary  institu- 
tion, built  of  wood,  roughly  put  up,  consisting 
of  several  wards,  whitewashed  in  and  out.  I 
found  Dr.  Crawford  to  be  a  perfect  gentleman 
and  very  interesting  and  we  got  along  like 
brothers;  he  was  very  kind  to  me.  Under  his 
treatment  I  recuperated  wonderfully  and  in  a 
couple  of  weeks  I  thought  I  was  entirely  cured. 
I  made  myself  as  useful  as  possible,  still  con- 
tinuing my  course  of  medicine.  Dr.  Crawford 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  153 

appointed  me  to  the  same  position  I  held  under 
Dr.  Green  at  the  Floyd  hospital  at  Macon,  and 
he  was  well  pleased  with  my  work,  as  well  as  the 
inmates  of  the  hospital. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

General  Bragg  was  removed  from  the  com- 
mand of  the  army  of  Tennessee  and  Gen.  Joseph 
E.  Johnston  appointed  in  his  place  early  in  the 
Spring  of  1864.  The  campaign  opened  and  Gen. 
J.  T.  Sherman  commanded  the  Federal  forces. 
His  sanguinary  and  uncivilized  warfare  on  the 
defenseless  is  a  matter  of  history.  His  careless 
application  of  the  torch,  destroying  by  fire  what- 
soever he  could  not  carry  off,  leaving  the  old 
and  decripid,  the  women  and  children  to  per- 
ish in  his  wake  as  he  marched  through  Georgia, 
and  reducing  to  ashes  everything  within  his 
reach,  within  a  scope  of  territory  fifty  miles 
wide  by  over  three  hundred  miles  long.  John- 
ston's army  consisted  of  only  about  half  the 
strength  of  that  of  his  antagonist,  consequently 
he  adopted  tactics  by  which  he  reduced  Sher- 
man's army  every  time  that  General  would 
make  an  attack.  Joseph  E.  Johnston  acted  all 
along  on  the  defensive,  but  was  ever  ready  to 
inflict  severe  punishment.  When  General  Sher- 
man would  force  his  lines  of  defense,  thus  Gen- 
eral Johnston  generally  ceded  ground.  While 
his  defeats  were  actual  victories,  as  the  ceme- 
teries along  the  line  of  his  march  indicate.  The 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  155 

hospitals  were  filling  up  with  sick  and  wounded ; 
provisions  became  scarce,  especially  as  our  ter- 
ritory became  gradually  contracted.  So  Dr. 
Crawford  came  to  me  one  morning,  saying, 
"Hermann,  I  want  to  send  you  out  on  a  for- 
aging expedition.  Do  you  think  you  can  buy  up 
provisions  for  the  hospital?  I  just  drew  my 
allowance  of  $10,000.00;  it  wont  buy  much  at 
present  prices."  Yes,  I  can  try  and  make  it  go 
as  far  as  possible.  What  do  you  say?  I 
remarked,  Doctor,  I  will  try  and  do  my  best. 
So  he  gave  me  two  packages  of  newly  struck 
Confederate  money,  all  the  way  from  $1,000.00 
to  $5.00  bills,  more  money  than  I  had  ever  had 
in  my  possession,  and  I  was  actually  afraid  to 
carry  such  sums  around  with  me,  although  I 
knew  it  was  not  of  much  value.  I  also  wanted 
all  the  linen,  lint  and  bandages  that  I  could  get. 
I  came  to  Washington  county  where  I  was 
known ;  I  put  a  notice  in  the  weekly  paper  edited 
by  J.  M.  G.  Medlock,  setting  forth  my  mission, 
and  that  I  would  gladly  receive  any  contribu- 
tion for  the  sick  and  wounded  at  the  fair  ground 
hospital  in  Atlanta,  under  the  charge  of  Dr. 
Geo.  G.  Crawford,  of  the  army  of  Tennessee, 
and  that  I  would  pay  the  market  price  to  any 
who  did  not  feel  able  to  contribute  the  same  free 
of  charge ;  that  I  would  publish  all  contributions 


156  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

in  the  Central  Georgian.  I  wrote  to  the  Central 
Railroad  Company's  office  at  Savannah,  asking 
them  to  kindly  spare  me  two  box  cars,  one  at 
Bartow  and  one  at  Davisboro,  on  a  certain  day, 
when  I  would  load  them  with  provisions  for  the 
hospital.  The  officials  kindly  offered  me  the 
cars  free  of  charge.  It  was  on  Thursday  I 
came  to  Bartow.  Mr.  Sam  Evans,  the  agent, 
gave  me  all  his  assistance,  and  provisions  com- 
menced to  rolling  in.  Mr.  Warren  from  Louis- 
ville, Ga.,  sent  me  four  horse  wagon  loads  of 
flour  from  his  mill,  free  of  charge.  Mr.  Tarver, 
a  large  planter,  brought  me  a  heavy  load  of 
meats,  chicken,  eggs,  butter,  etc.  Mr.  B.  G. 
Smith  also  brought  me  a  hogshead  of  hams, 
shoulders  and  sides,  the  meat  all  nicely  smoked, 
and  100  pounds  of  leaf  lard,  chickens,  eggs  and 
sweet  potatoes,  in  fact  the  farmers  of  that  sec- 
tion, all  well  to  do  people  and  slave  owners, 
vied  with  each  other  as  to  who  could  do  the  most. 
I  filled  up  the  car  that  day  with  the  choicest  pro- 
visions which  did  not  cost  me  a  nickel.  Many 
poor  women  would  bring  me  the  last  chicken 
they  had,  and  when  I  wanted  to  pay  for  the  same 
refused  to  take  the  money,  and  regretted  they 
could  not  do  any  more.  They  unraveled  all  the 
old  linen  table  cloth  and  brought  me  bags  full  of 
lint  and  bandages.  That  night  I  forwarded  the 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  157 

car  under  special  instructions  by  Mr.  Evans 
that  it  contained  perishable  goods,  labeled  for 
the  hospital  in  Atlanta.  The  following  day  I 
went  to  Davisboro,  G-a.  "VV.  C.  Riddle,  Simon 
Thomas,  Daniel  Inman,  Ben  Jordan,  Syl 
Prince,  Daniel  Harris  and  others  in  that 
neighborhood  proved  themselves  as  generous 
and  patriotic  as  the  people  of  Bartow  and 
filled  my  car  to  overflowing  with  all  kinds  of  pro- 
visions, with  the  exception  of  one  instance;  in 
regard  to  his  worthy  family  I  will  withhold  his 
name.  He  was  a  well  to  do  farmer  and  had  a 
profession.  He  was  a  hot  secessionist  and  made 
speeches  to  that  effect.  On  the  day  of  receiving 
he  came  up  in  a  fine  buggy,  with  a  bushel  of 
sweet  potatoes.  I  said  to  him,  What  are  they 
worth?  He  answered,  "Four  dollars,"  I  think 
is  what  they  are  selling  at.  I  paid  the  money 
and  he  departed,  and  that  was  all  the  money 
on  the  debit  side  of  the  $10,000.00.  The  same 
was  published  as  stated  in  the  Georgian.  I 
returned  to  Atlanta  with  the  last  car  of  provis- 
ions and  when  I  alighted  from  the  car  the  hos- 
pital convalescents  actually  carried  me  on  tEeir 
shoulders  and  would  not  let  me  walk.  Dr.  Craw- 
ford looked  on  me  in  wonder  when  I  returned 
my  account  and  gave  him  back  the  $10,000.00 
minus  $4.00,  and  said,  "Well  that  gives  me  money 


158  MEMOEIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

to  fix  up  my  hospital  as  it  should  be.  He  bought 
sheets  and  mattresses  and  had  the  hospital  ren- 
ovated and  made  as  comfortable  as  money  could 
make  it.  Under  Dr.  Crawford's  treatment  I 
again  became  strong  and  the  paroxisms  of  pain 
gradually  gave  way  and  became  less  frequent 
until  I  really  considered  that  I  was  a  well  man 
again. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

My  cousin  in  Macon  gave  a  little  social 
entertainment  and  sent  me  an  invitation.  I 
showed  the  same  to  the  Doctor,  and  he  said, 
Well  go,  I  give  you  48  hours.  The  following 
morning  I  hurried  to  the  Quartermaster  with 
my  furlough  for  transportation  by  placing  my 
permission  on  his  desk.  The  train  just  blew  the 
signal  for  departure ;  I  picked  up  the  transpor- 
tation and  in  my  hurry  left  my  furlough  on  the 
desk.  Between  Atlanta  and  Griffin  the  guards 
passed  through  the  coaches  to  inspect  all  papers 
of  the  passengers.  When  they  came  to  me  I 
found  my  transportation  in  my  side  pocket 
minus  my  forty-eight  hours  leave  of  absence.  I 
explained  how  it  might  have  happened,  and' 
hoped  they  would  let  me  continue,  but  I  was; 
requested  to  get  off  at  Griffin,  which  I  did,  and 
asked  the  guard  to  conduct  me  to  the  Provost 
Marshal,  so  that  I  might  explain,  and  he  could 
inform  himself,  never  doubting  but  that  he 
would  wire  and  inform  himself  of  the  cor- 
rectness of  my  statement  and  let  me  pro- 
ceed. Instead,  he  told  me  he  had  heard  such 
statements  before  and  informed  the  guard  to 
be  especially  vigilant  in  regard  to  me,  so  I 


160  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

was  conducted  to  an  old  livery  stable  that 
served  as  a  prison.  This  was  in  Dec.  1863.  I 
spoke  to  my  guard  if  there  was  not  a  way  by 
which  I  could  communicate  with  Dr.  Crawford 
in  Atlanta;  he  said  he  did  not  know.  I  said, 
Please  tell  the  Provost  to  write  to  Dr.  Crawford 
about  me.  Presently  one  of  the  guards  brought 
me  a  broom,  saying,  It  is  a  rule  when  a  new 
comer  comes  to  make  him  sweep  out  the  cala- 
boose. I  said,  Well  this  time  you  will  have  to 
break  your  rule.  Do  I  understand  that  you 
refuse  to  comply?  I  certainly  do.  He  went  to 
the  Sergt.  of  the  Guard  and  made  his  report 
as  to  what  passed  between  us.  The  Sergt.  came 
at  once,  saying  I  understand  you  refuse  to 
sweep  out  the  calaboose.  I  certainly  do;  is  it 
for  this  which  I  am  arrested?  He  said,  Do  you 
know  the  penalty,  sir?  No,  and  I  don't  care, 
was  my  reply.  He  remarked,  You'll  be  bucked 
and  gagged  for  two  hours.  I  again  said,  "You'll 
have  a  nice  time  doing  it."  He  answered.  Not 
so  much  talk ;  pull  off  your  overcoat.  I  said,  If  I 
do  I'll  make  you  feel  sorry  for  it.  All  this  oc- 
curred while  I  was  standing  before  the  fire  place, 
with  my  hands  behind  me.  In  front  of  me  about 
five  feet  distance,  stood  a  wooden  bench.  The 
Sergeant  stood  between  me  and  it.  Calling 
for  the  guard  to  come  up,  they  asked  him 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  161 

if  they  should  bring  their  guns.  He  said 
no,  only  one  bring  his  gun.  They  came  up. 
When  the  Sergeant  put  his  hand  on  me  as 
if  to  unbutton  my  coat.  I  had  moistened 
the  knuckles  of  my  fingers  by  passing  them 
between  my  lips,  concentrated  the  muscles' 
tension  and  struck  the  Sergeant  over  the 
bridge  of  his  nose,  sending  him  sprawling  back- 
ward over  the  bench,  his  head  hitting  the  pave- 
ment, and  I  had  to  dodge  to  avoid  his  heels  hit- 
ting me  under  the  chin.  The  man  who  had  the 
musket  made  a  lunge  at  me.  Fortunately  I  had 
a  memorandum  book  in  my  side  pocket  which  he 
hit  and  dented  the  leaves  of  it  half  way  through. 
I  grabbed  at  the  gun  and  caught  it  just  at  the 
curve  of  the  bayonet,  close  to  the  muscle,  and 
jerked  it  out  of  his  hands.  I  made  moulinets, 
holding  the  gun  by  the  barrel  and  bayonet,  and 
drove  the  whole  guard,  consisting  of  twelve 
men,  before  me.  One  of  them  stopped  at  the 
rack,  close  to  the  door,  which  was  open,  to  reach 
for  a  gun,  when  I  hit  him  with  the  butt  end  on 
the  arm,  just  below  the  shoulder,  and  sent  him 
to  the  ground,  falling  as  he  went  in  the  middle 
of  the  street.  The  exit  of  the  men  out  of  the 
guard  house  was  so  hasty  it  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  the  populace  so  that  in  a  very  short 
space  of  time  a  crowd  had  assembled  before  the 


162  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

door,  looking  askance  as  to  what  had  happened, 
among  which  was  a  Lieut.  Colonel,  judging  from 
the  ensign  he  wore.  Advancing  to  me,  who  stood 
quietly  at   the    entrance,    at   parade   rest,   he, 
undoubtedly  thinking  that  I  was  the  sentinel, 
asked  me  what  was  the  matter,  what  are  the 
casualties.    I  simply  remarked,  Nobody  hurt  on 
my  side,  Colonel.  What  is  all  this  assemblage 
here  doing?    So  I  explained  to  him  what  had 
happened  and  the  cause  of  it.     He  asked  me 
where  were  the  guards.    I  pointed  out  some  of 
them  in  the  crowd;  they  gradually  approached. 
He  asked  some  of  them  to  lead  him  to  the  Pro- 
vost Marshal,  whose  name  was  Capt.  Willis, 
which  gentleman  (pardon  the  expression),  he 
berated  to  the  utmost,  telling  him  that  he  was 
not  fit  for  a  hog  herder  much  less  to  be  in  com- 
mand of  human  beings,  who  ever  heard  of  buck- 
ing and  gagging  in  the  Confederate  Army.    I 
iim  going  to  report  you  to  the  proper  authori- 
ties, and  he  ordered  him  to  send  me  back  to 
Atlanta  by  the  next  train,  so  that  I  might  prove 
my  assertion.    The  train  from  Macon  to  Atlanta 
was  due  within  half  an  hour,  so  I  was  sent  back 
under  guard  of  a  Lieutenant  and  four  men  with 
loaded  muskets,  with  orders  to  shoot  should  I 
make  an  effort  to  escape.    Luckily  in  my  school 
days,  which  were  close  to  an  army  post,  I  went 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  163 

twice  a  week  to  the  armory  to  take  lessons  in 
boxing  and  sword  exercise,  and  while  I  do  not 
profess  to  be  an  expert  in  those  sciences,  they 
served  me  tolerably  well  in  the  above  stated 
instance,  and  others  through  which  it  has  been 
my  misfortune  to  pass.  Arriving  in  Atlanta,  I 
was  conducted  to  the  Provost  Marshal.  The 
Lieutenant  in  command  of  the  guard  handed 
him  a  letter  which  the  Provost  read,  after  which 
he  looked  at  me,  standing  in  the  middle  of  the 
room,  and  said,  "Well  Lieutenant,  I'll  take 
charge  of  the  prisoner ;  you  can  go  back  by  the 
next  train.  The  Lieutenant  saluted  him  and  he 
and  his  guard  departed.  It  was  between  four 
and  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  There  were 
two  more  men  at  the  office  at  their  desks,  and 
they  soon  left  the  room,  leaving  me  and  the 
Provost  by  ourselves.  Turning  to  me  he  said, 
You  belong  to  Walker's  Brigade?  I  said,  Yes, 
Howell's  Battery.  He  said,  Well  I  thought  I 

knew  you.    He  said,  Well  you  got  in  a  h 1  of 

a  scrape.  I  answered  that  I  did  not  know  that 
a  man  losing  his  furlough  was  so  criminal.  He 
looked  up  at  me  in  surprise,  saying,  This  is  not 
what  you  are  charged  with;  you  are  charged 
with  striking  a  superior  officer ;  do  you  know  the 
penalty!  Yes,  shot  if  found  guilty.  What  did 
you  do  it  for?  About  that  time  I  had  been  eye- 


164  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

ing  my  questioner  all  along,  I  thought  I  knew 
him  but  I  could  not  place  him.  He  was  Capt. 
Beebee  of  a  South  Carolina  Regiment.  I 
answered  him  thus,  "Well,  Captain,  I  fought 
for  the  rights  of  the  Confederacy  for  the  last 
three  years  and  thought  five  minutes  for  myself 
was  not  too  much."  I  explained  to  him  all  of 
the  circumstances  leading  to  my  present  condi- 
tion. He  exclaimed,  "My  God,  why  did  you  not 
kill  him?"  I  said  I  did  my  best,  I  only  got  one 
lick  at  him  and  I  give  him  a  good  one.  He  said 
Go  over  to  the  quartermaster's  and  see  if  you 
find  your  papers;  if  not  I  will  give  you  some 
that  will  carry  you  through.  I  ran  across  the 
street,  asking  the  quartermaster  if  I  did  not 
leave  my  furlough  on  his  desk  that  morning. 
He  opened  a  drawer  and  handed  me  my  paper. 
I  thanked  him  and  reported  my  find  to  Capt. 
Beebee,  who  said,  I  know  you  are  alright,  you 
can  go.  We  shook  hands  and  I  went  my  way  to 
the  fair  ground  hospital  for  the  night  to  make  a 
new  start  in  the  morning.  Dr.  Crawford  seeing 
me  said,  I  thought  you  had  gone  to  Macon.  I 
answered  that  I  had  gone  a  part  of  the  way  and 
was  brought  back  under  guards.  How  was 
that?  So  I  recounted  to  him  all  the  circum- 
stances and  illustrated  with  a  musket  the  pic- 
ture of  the  guard  getting  out  of  my  reach.  Dr, 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  16  5 

Crawford  laughed  till  he  cried.  Well  you  had 
a  time  of  it  said  he.  I  sure  did,  and  half  of  my 
permit  is  out.  He  said,  Well  go  and  stay  as  long 
as  you  like  it,  but  not  too  long.  He  wrote  me 
another  permit  and  I  again  made  for  the  train 
leading  to  Macon.  This  time  the  guard  did  not 
-come  aboard  inspecting  papers,  but  the  train 
on  arriving  at  Griffin  was  entered  by  the  guards 
and  papers  were  shown.  I  was  sitting  by  the 
window  of  my  coach  when  I  heard  some  one  say 
"Sergt.  there  is  the  fellow,  the  same  fellow," 
pointing  at  me.  I  had  not  noticed  the  Sergt.  at 
first  as  I  was  looking  above  and  beyond  him, 
and  I  saw  him  standing  right  close  beside  the 
train,  in  front  of  the  window.  I  put  out  my 
head  to  speak  to  him ;  he  had  a  bandage  around 
his  forehead  and  both  of  his  eyes  were  inflamed 
and  discolored.  I  said  to  him,  Sergt.  are  you 
hurt?  He  did  not  reply,  so  I  said,  I  am  sorry 
for  you,  the  next  time  you  want  to  have  some 
fun  in  the  bucking,  gagging  line  you  try  some 
one  else  who  likes  that  kind  of  sport  better  than 
I  do.  The  train  departed  and  nobody  even 
looked  at  my  papers  that  day.  I  arrived  at 
Macon  a  day  after  the  feast,  but  had  a  pleasant 
day  anyhow. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

Before  the  battle  of  Resaca  Dr.  Crawford  was 
ordered  to  move  his  hospital  further  into  the 
interior,  so  he  located  at  Vineville,  a  suburb  of 
Macon.  He  pitched  his  buildings  in  front  of 
Mr.  Burrell  Jordan's  premises  and  sent  me 
again  on  a  foraging  expedition.  I  came  again 
home  to  Washington  County,  expecting  to  make 
headquarters  at  the  home  of  Mr.  Benjamin  G. 
Smith,  where  I  was  always  welcome.  Mr.  Smith 
however,  at  that  time  seemed  to  be  very  much 
disturbed  and  not  in  his  usual  pleasant  and 
cheerful  mood.  I  asked  him  the  cause  of  his 
troubles;  he  handed  me  a  slip  of  paper  just 
received  from  Lieut.  Stone,  recruiting  agent  at 
Sandersville,  to  be  sure  and  report  without  fail 
at  Sandersville  on  the  following  Thursday  to  be 
mustered  into  service.  Mr.  Smith  was  a  wid- 
ower; his  wife  had  died  a  couple  of  years  pre- 
vious, leaving  him  an  only  daughter  about  four 
years  old.  Mr.  Smith  was  the  owner  of  about 
one  hunded  slaves  and  a  very  large  plantation. 
He  remarked  to  me,  Hermann,  I  do  not  mind 
going  to  the  front,  but  what  is  to  become  of  my 
dear  little  Jenny  among  all  those  negroes;  this 
is  more  than  I  can  stand.  Mr.  Smith  was  a  great 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  167 

benefactor  to  the  indigent  widows  and  orphans, 
and  soldiers  families.  He  contributed  unstint- 
edly to  the  wants  of  those  at  home  whose  male 
persons  were  at  the  front  fighting  the  battles 
of  their  country;  in  fact  he  run  his  whole  plan- 
tation in  their  interest,  making  thousands  of 
provisions  which  he  distributed  among  them  as 
they  stood  in  need  and  without  remuneration. 
This  was  the  period  of  the  war  when  everybody 
able  to  bear  arms  was  called  to  the  front,  and 
the  saying  was,  "The  Government  is  robbing 
the  cradle  and  the  grave."  Sherman  was  ad- 
vancing; Johnston  was  falling  back;  the  people 
were  clamorous  for  a  test  fight,  General  John- 
ston could  not  see  the  advantage  of  the  same 
and  still  kept  retreating.  The  battle  of  Ken- 
nesaw  mountain  was  hotly  contested,  with 
severe  punishment  to  the  enemy  but  Johnston 
withdrew  and  thus  fell  back  to  the  gates  of 
Atlanta.  Keferring  again  to  Mr.  Smith,  I  told 
him  I  thought  I  had  a  solution  to  his  troubles. 
1  said,  Carry  your  little  girl  to  Mrs.  Francis, 
your  sister;  she  will  take  care  of  her.  This  is 
only  Tuesday,  we  will  run  up  to  Macon  tonight, 
and  I  will  plead  your  cause  before  Governor 
Brown,  who  had  established  his  headquarters 
there.  I  think  it  worth  a  trial  anyway,  you  can't 
lose  anything  by  it  anyhow.  This  was  about 


168  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

3  o'clock  p.  m.  He  at  once  gave  orders  to  his 
cook  to  boil  a  ham  and  make  biscuits  and  that 
night  about  midnight  we  took  the  train  to 
Macon,  Ga.  We  took  breakfast  at  my  cousin's 
and  repaired  to  the  Governor's  headquarters. 
I  saw  the  Governor  in  front  of  a  table,  exam- 
ining some  papers.  I  said,  This  is  Governor 
Brown?  He  said  Yes,  what  will  you  have?  I 
introduced  myself,  stating  that  I  was  a  member 
of  HowelPs  Battery,  and  that  on  account  of  dis- 
abilities was  relieved  from  duty  and  assigned 
by  Dr.  Crawford  as  foraging  agent.  I  related 
the  condition  of  Mr.  Smith  and  his  surround- 
ings, saying,  That  man  is  worth  as  much  at 
home  as  a  regiment  at  the  front.  The  Gover- 
nor at  once  wrote  on  a  sheet  of  paper,  handing 
it  to  Mr.  Smith,  said,  Hand  this  to  the  enrolling 
officer.  It  was  an  exemption  from  military  duty. 
We  took  our  leave,  thanking  the  Governor.  Mr. 
Smith  was  so  overcome  with  the  fact  that  I  had 
never  seen  such  emotion  displayed  by  a  man; 
tears  ran  down  his  cheeks,  his  thoughts  con- 
centrated on  his  "Sis"  as  he  called  his  little 
daughter  Jenny. 

Mr.  Smith  lived  to  a  ripe  old  age.  He  was  of 
a  very  benevolent  disposition.  He  was  a  relig- 
ious man  but  not  a  fanatic,  quick  answering  and 


WAK  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  169 

very  charitable.  Many  now  prosperous  and 
substantial  citizens  owe  their  start  in  life  to 
his  munificence.  He  was  as  gentle  as  a  woman 
but  as  firm  as  a  rock  in  his  convictions.  In  his 
death  Washington  County  has  sustained  an 
irreparable  loss  and  the  State  a  true  and  loyal 
citizen. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

General  Joseph  E.  Johnston  was  removed 
from  command  and  General  John  B.  Hood  was 
appointed  in  his  stead.  Dr.  Crawford  was 
ordered  to  remove  to  Montgomery,  Ala.  In 
reference  to  the  battle  of  Besaca  I  omitted  to 
state  that  I  received  a  letter  from  my  friend 
B.  S.  Jordan,  whom  I  had  appointed  as  local 
agent  to  forward  supplies  for  the  general  hos- 
pital, that  his  brother,  Jas.  P.,  a  Capt.  in  the 
57th  Ga.  Eegt.,  and  a  dear  friend  of  mine,  was 
dangerously  wounded.  I  at  once  set  out  in 
quest  of  him  and  found  him  lying  on  a  pallet  on 
the  platform  of  the  depot.  He  was  suffering,  but 
when  he  saw  me  he  brightened  up.  I  said,  poor 
fellow,  are  you  wounded  badly?  He  said,  Yes, 
and  indicated  the  place.  Now  I  have  to  refer  to 
a  little  incident  that  transpired  at  the  time  when 
Capt.  Jordan  had  organized  a  Company  and 
was  about  to  leave  for  the  front:  This  was  in 
1862.  When  I  had  already  experienced  one 
year's  service  in  the  1st  Ga.  Regiment.  I  said, 
"Well,  James,  don't  you  let  me  hear  of  you  being 
shot  in  the  back.  He  was  indignant.  Never, 
replied  he,  emphatically.  But  when  he  indi- 
cated his  wound,  I  remarked  at  once :  Shot  in 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  171 

the  back,  as  I  expected.  Suffering  as  lie  was, 
he  laughed  heartily  and  said  I  want  to  explain; 
I  said,  No  explanation  is  necessary,  the  evi- 
dence is  before  me.  He  remarked,  Yes,  but 
I  want  to  explain  how  it  was  done.  I  said 
evidently  by  a  musket  ball  in  the  hands  of 
a  Yankee,  and  so  I  teased  him  until  he 
nearly  forgot  all  about  his  wound,  which  was 
in  the  fleshy  part  of  his  hip.  Captain  James 
P.  Jordan  was  of  a  noble  and  chivalrous 
disposition  and  his  Company  had  seen  much 
hard  service.  He  explained  that  they  were 
ordered  forward  on  a  double  quick  to  charge 
the  enemy  in  their  immediate  front,  when  owing 
to  some  obstructions  his  Company  got  out  of 
line,  turning  towards  them  to  align  them  a  ball 
had  struck  him  and  he  was  carried  to  the  rear. 
I  carried  him  to  the  .Vineville  hospital.  Dr. 
Crawford  extracted  the  ball,  and  when  his  Uncle 
Burrell  heard  of  his  being  there  he  had  him 
removed  to  his  home  and  well  taken  care  of. 

It  must  be  remembered  matters  were  getting 
very  squally;  every  available  man  and  boy  was 
called  to  the  front.  The  battle  of  Atlanta  was 
fought  and  lost  at  a  great  sacrifice  to  both  sides, 
on  July  21st,  1864,  Gen.  W.  H.  T.  Walker  on 
our  side,  General  McPherson  on  the  Federal 


172  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

side,  were  both  killed.  The  City  was  sacked 
and  laid  into  ruins  as  a  result  of  the  most  unciv- 
ilized warfare.  General  Hood  changed  his  tac- 
tics, and  -after  the  engagement  at  Jonesboro  he 
swung  to  Sherman's  rear,  expecting  by  that 
move  to  cut  off  Sherman's  supplies  and  rein- 
forcements, and  Sherman  having  now  no  army 
in  front  to  oppose  him  marched  through  the 
length  of  Georgia  by  rapid  strides  to  the  sea, 
Savannah  being  his  objective  point. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

The  prisoners  at  Andersonville,  amounting 
to  many  thousand,  owing  to  their  Government 
refusing  to  exchange  them,  preferring  to  let 
them  die  in  their  congested  condition  rather 
than  to  release  those  of  ours,  caused  untold 
hardships  on  those  unfortunate  fellows.  Their 
own  Government  even  refused  to  furnish  them 
with  the  requisite  medical  relief  and  medicine 
which  became  unobtainable  on  account  of  the 
close  cordon  of  blockaders  guarding  our  ports 
of  entry.  It  must  be  remembered  that  while  we 
on  the  Confederate  side  had  only  seven  hundred 
thousand  available  men,  in  round  numbers,  in 
every  branch  of  the  service,  our  adversary  had, 
according  to  statistics,  two  million,  seven  hun- 
dred thousand  men  in  the  field,  and  while  we  had 
exhausted  all  our  resources  they  still  had  the 
whole  world  to  draw  from.  Neither  were  they 
particular  then,  as  now,  as  to  wha'i  kind  of  emi- 
grants landed  in  Castle  Garden  or  Ellis  Island, 
but  they  accepted  the  scum  of  the  world,  paying 
fifteen  hundred  dollars  bounty  as  an  incentive 
to  enlist  in  their  army.  Such  were  the  condi- 
tions in  the  latter  part  of  1864.  General  Whee- 
ler's Cavalry  was  the  only  force  that  swung 


174  MEMOEIES  OF  A  VETEBAN- 

close  to  Sherman's  flanks,  thus  keeping  his  col- 
umns more  compact  and  preventing  them  from 
doing  more  depredations  than  they  did.  Even 
as  it  was,  they  lived  on  the  fat  of  the  land,  and 
as  stated,  wantonly  destroyed  what  they  could 
not  carry  along,  to  the  detriment  of  the  defence- 
less women  and  children. 

Dr.  Crawford  was  ordered  to  remove  his  hos- 
pital to  Montgomery,  Alabama.  I  was  out  for- 
aging ;  I  was  at  Davisboro,  Station  No.  12, 
Central  E.  E.  when  a  train  load  of  the  Ander- 
sonville  prisoners  stopped  at  the  station.  The 
train  consisted  of  a  long  string  of  box  cars. 
Davisboro  was  not  then  the  prosperous  little 
city  it  is  now ;  it  consisted  of  only  one  dwelling 
and  outhouses  usually  attached  to  a  prosperous 
plantation,  and  a  store  house;  it  was  owned 
by  Mrs.  Hardwick,  the  great  grandmother  of 
our  now  Congressman,  T.  W.  Hardwick,  an 
elderly  widow  lady,  who  for  the  accommodation 
of  the  railroad  kept  an  eating  house  where  the 
train  hands  would  get  their  meals  as  the  trains 
passed  on  schedule  time.  Curiosity  led  me  to 
approach  the  train,  which  was  heavily  guarded 
by  sentinels  stationed  in  the  open  doors  and  on 
top  of  the  cars,  with  loaded  muskets,  to  prevent 
escapes,  when  I  heard  the  grand  hailing  words 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  175 

of  distress  from  an  inmate  of  the  car.  Being  a 
Mason,  I  demanded  what  was  wanted,  when 
some  one  appealed  to  me,  "For  God's  sake  give 
me  something  to  eat,  I  am  starving  to  death; 
somebody  stole  my  rations  and  I  have  not  eaten 
anything  for  three  days."  Being  meal  time  I 
at  once  run  in  the  dining  room  of  the  Hardwick 
House,  picked  up  a  plate  with  ham  and  one  with 
biscuits,  and  ran  to  the  train,  called  on  the  man 
in  Masonic  terms',  and  handed  him  the  provis- 
ions that  I  had  wrapped  up  in  a  home  made 
napkin,  bordered  with  indigo  blue.  It  was  seven 
o'clock  p.  m.  and  one  could  not  distinguish  the 
features  of  an  individual;  it  was  a  starless, 
foggy  night.  After  the  train  left  I  entered  the 
house  and  excused  myself  for  the  rudeness  of 
taking  the  provisions  as  I  did.  Mrs.  Hardwick 
not  having  been  in  the  dining  room  at  the  time 
I  explained  to  her  that  my  obligations  were 
such  that  I  had  to  render  assistance  to  any  dis- 
tressed Brother  Mason;  he  applying  to  me  as 
such;  "I  am  now  ready  to  pay  you  for  all  the 
damages  I  did,"  and  this  was  her  reply:  "I 
don't  charge  you  anything  honey,  I  am  glad  you 
did  it. ' '  But  not  so  with  her  housekeeper,  Miss 
Eliza  Jackson,  who  berated  me  for  everything 
she  could  think  of,  saying,  "They  had  no  right 
,to  come  here  and  fight  us ;  you  are  nothing  but  a 


176  MEMOBIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

Yankee  yourself,"  etc.,  etc.  Miss  Jackson  was 
a  long  ways  beyond  her  teens,  so  I  said,  "Mis& 
Liza,  you  are  mad,  because  owing  to  the  war 
your  chances  for  marriage  have  greatly  dimin- 
ished, especially  with  the  disposition  you  have." 
Those  present  enjoyed  her  discomfiture. 

Usually  when  troops  were  about  to  be  ordered 
in  transit,  they  were  issued  three  days  rations, 
all  of  which  were  often  walloped  out  of  sight 
at  one  square  meal  on  account  of  its  meager- 
ness  ;  undoubtedly  that  is  what  happened  to  my 
Masonic  Brother;  he  received  his  rations  and 
someone  stole  them.  I  myself  often  ate  at  one 
meal  what  was  intended  to  last  me  three  days 
and  trusted  for  the  future.  I  never  felt  any 
remorse  of  conscience  to  get  something  to  eat, 
if  I  could;  I  felt  that  the  people  for  whom  I 
devoted  my  services  in  those  days,  owed  me  a 
living,  and  when  the  authorities  failed  to  sup- 
ply it,  I  took  it  where  I  could  find  it. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

I  rejoined  Dr.  Crawford  and  he  sent  me  out 
again.  I  took  the  train  to  Greenville,  Alabama, 
.and  walked  about  eight  miles  to  Col.  Bowens', 
who  was  an  uncle  of  Mrs.  John  George.  Mrs. 
George  was  a  niece  of  Mrs.  Braswell,  where  I 
boarded.  She  came  to  spend  many  days  with 
her  Aunt  while  I  was  with  the  family;  her 
home  was  only  about  three  miles  distant. 
She  married  Mr.  George  and  moved  to  But- 
ler County,  Alabama.  Mr.  Bowen,  her  un- 
cle, furnished  me  with  a  horse  and  I  rode 
-out  to  see  them.  Butler  county  is  a  sort 
of  an  out  of  the  way  place,  and  that  country 
had  not  been  overrun  with  soldiers,  and  pro- 
visions were  plentiful.  When  I  hollowed  at  the 
gate  she  recognized  me  at  once  'and  was  over- 
joyed; she  took  me  around  the  neck  and  kissed 
me.  George  ran  out  saying,  "Mollie!  Mollie! 
What  are  you  doing."  She  said,  "Never  mind 
that  is  home  folks."  Poor  woman,  she  was  so 
overcome  to  see  someone  from  home  that  she 
actually  cried  for  joy.  They  were  a  happy  fam- 
ily. I  gave  them  all  the  news  about  their  peo- 
ple, as  I  had  just  come  from  there.  I  stated 
my  business  and  both  of  them  set  in  the  follow- 


178  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

ing  day  to  assist  me  in  my  duty.  Butler  county, 
where  they  lived  was  a  very  hilly  country,  but 
tolerably  thickly  settled,  and  provisions  came 
in  by  the  quantities.  I,  with  the  assistance  of 
my  host  and  hostess,  filled  a  single  box  of  egg& 
six  by  three  feet  long  and  three  feet  high.  W& 
stood  every  one  on  its  end  with  alternate  layers 
of  bran  and  sawdust  and  carried  them  over  a 
very  rough  road  to  Greenville,  together  with  a 
great  many  chickens  and  shipped  them  to  the 
hospital,  and  we  only  lost  three  dozen  eggs  by 
breakage.  One  morning  we  heard  the  report 
that  the  enemy,  in  great  force,  was  approaching. 
People  were  leaving  the  city.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  a  small  garrison  there  was  no  defense^ 
Dr.  Crawford  had  to  abandon  the  city,  removed 
all  that  were  in  condition  to  get  away,  but  there 
were  about  a  half  a  dozen  men  who  were  too  sick 
to  be  removed.  The  enemy  came  into  the  city 
soon  after  we  left.  Dr.  Crawford  remarked  to 
me  that  evening,  "Herman,  I  am  going  to  send 
you  back  to  take  charge  of  the  hospital  and  those 
poor  fellows  that  I  could  not  get  away."  I 
demurred,  saying  that  I  did  not  care  to  be  taken 
prisoner.  He  said,  "Listen;  In  all  civilized 
warfare  the  medical  department  is  exempt  from 
molestation."  I  said,  "From  the  way  this  war 
is  waged  it  is  not  altogether  civilized,  but  I  am 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  179 

under  your  orders ;  I'll  do  what  you  want  me  to 
do."  He  said,  "I'll  take  it  as  a  great  favor; 
I  can't  abandon  those  poor  fellows,  some  one 
has  to  take  care  of  them  and  administer  to  their 
wants."  He  said  he  did  not  know  where  he 
would  locate  but  wherever  he  went  I  must  come 
back  to  him.  I  was  then  about  nine  miles  from 
Montgomery.  It  was  late  in  the  evening,  and  I 
took  it  afoot  back."  When  passing  through 
Macon  on  my  way  to  Montgomery,  I  passed  a 
night  with  my  cousin,  Mrs.  Wurzbourg,  whose 
husband  was  exempt  from  military  duty  on 
account  of  physical  infirmity.  My  jacket  which 
I  wore  was  threadbare,  and  even  (holy).  He 
presented  me  with  one  of  his  blue  flannel  sack 
coats.  I  had  previously  been  able,  through  Dr. 
Crawford,  to  get  enough  cloth  for  a  pair  of 
pants  and  vest.  It  was  blockade  goods  which 
the  Government  had  purchased,  and  it  was 
of  a  coarse  textile,  and  of  a  light  blue  cast, 
and  thus  I  was  fairly  decently  clothed.  In 
those  days  the  Confederate  grey  was  very 
much  lacking,  and  men,  as  well  as  women, 
had  to  wear  anything,  of  any  color  they 
could  get  hold  of.  So  after  leaving  Dr.  Craw- 
ford, to  return  to  the  hospital  at  Montgom- 
ery, I  stopped  over  at  a  cottage.  The  pro- 
prietor had  a  watch  repair  and  jewelry  shop  in 


180  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

Montgomery,  who  owned  a  small  plantation 
about  six  miles  from  the  city.  He  had  left  the 
city  for  lack  of  business,  and  now  lived  at  his 
country  home.  He  was  an  Englishman,  his  wife 
was  French.  This  book  being  written  entirely 
from  memory,  after  a  lapse  of  about  a  half  a 
century,  I  can't  remember  the  names  of  those 
people,  but  they  were  very  kind  and  hospitable. 
After  supper  we  repaired  to  their  little  parlor. 
The  house  was  well  kept,  and  proved  that  the 
mistress  of  the  same  knew  how  to  manage  a 
home  and  make  it  comfortable.  There  was  a 
piano,  and  I  asked  the  lady,  (talking  French  to 
her),  if  she  would  kindly  play  a  little.  So  she 
asked  me  if  I  could  sing  some  French  songs ;  I 
said  a  few.  She  at  once  repaired  to  the  instru- 
ment, and  asked  me  what  will  you  have.  I  of 
course  called  for  the  Marseillaise,  which  she  per- 
formed to  perfection.  So  she  asked  me  to  sing; 
I  started  the  melody  of 

Adieu  Patrie 

France  Cherie 

Ou  Chaque  jour 

Coulait  si  pure 

Monhelvretie 

Douce  et  jolie 

Pays  d  'Amour 

Ociel  d  azure 

Adieu,  Adieu! 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  181 

Having  finished  that  stanza  I  noticed  she  had 
quit  playing  and  was  crying;  so  I  remarked, 
4 'Madam,  had  I  known  that  my  singing  would 
have  had  such  an  effect  I  surely  would  not  have 
sung."  By  way  of  explanation  she  remarked 
that  her  first  husband  was  a  composer  and  that 
the  song  I  sang  was  his  first  effort  and  he 
received  a  prize  on  it.  Oh  those  were  happy 
days  she  said !  Her  husband  talked  very  kindly 
to  her  and  the  general  conversation  turned  on 
Prance  and  of  days  gone  by.  She  had  lived  in 
Paris  and  knew  many  business  houses  that  I 
knew  and  I  passed  a  most  pleasant  night.  The 
following  morning  I  sat  down  to  a  substantial 
country  breakfast.  We  had  hardly  finished  when 
the  negro  servant  ran  in,  saying,  "  Master  the 
Yankees  are  coming.  They  are  here."  Look- 
ing up  the  road,  sure  enough,  a  few  hundred 
yards  beyond  where  the  road  turned,  they  were 
in  view.  I  at  once,  on  the  first  impulse,  jumped 
into  a  closet.  Hardly  was  I  in,  closing  the  door, 
when  I  thought  of  this  being  the  first  place  they 
would  examine.  I  opened  the  door,  and  not 
knowing  where  to  go  I  went  into  the  back  yard, 
between  the  house  and  the  smoke  house.  Hardly 
had  I  done  so  when  a  dozen  or  more  Yankees  left 
their  column  entered  the  house  very  boister- 
ously. Being  dressed  somewhat  like  they  were, 


182  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

in  blue,  lacking  but  the  brass  buttons,  I  entered 
the  back  door,  unconcernedly,  mixing  among 
them  without  being  detected  or  noticed.  Some 
of  the  men  had  placed  their  guns  in  the  corner 
of  the  room;  when  of  a  sudden  my  hostess  run 
in  by  the  back  door,  crying,  "My  God!  They 
are  taking  all  of  my  meat."  I  don't  know  what 
impelled  me  but  I  seized  a  gun  from  the  corner, 
ran  out  of  the  back  door,  brought  my  weapon 
from  a  trail  to  a  support,  and  ordered  the  two 
men  to  throw  back  the  hams  each  of  them  had 
in  their  grasp,  one  of  which  acted  at  my  com- 
mand, and  the  other  said,  What  in  the  h 1 

you  got  to  do  with  it.  Before  I  could  reply  his 
comrade  said  to  him,  "Throw  it  down,  don't 
you  see  he  is  a  safe  guard;"  he  threw  down  the 
hams.  I  took  the  cue  from  what  the  Yankee 
said,  although  it  was  the  first  time  I  had  heard 
of  a  safe-guard.  The  door  of  the  dwelling  wide 
open,  those  in  the  house  saw  me  walk  the  post 
back  and  forth,  made  their  exit  and  left  the 
house,  and  as  long  as  I  was  guarding,  no  more 
Yankees  tarried  on  the  premises;  they  came, 
looked  about  and  left  the  premises  as  soon  as 
they  saw  me  standing  guard,  until  the  whole 
column  had  passed.  My  host  came  to  me  say- 
ing, Well,  they  are  all  gone,  thank  God,  I  said 
no,  the  rear  guard  has  not  passed.  The  dwel- 


WAB  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  183 

ling  house  was  constructed  close  to  the  ground, 
leaving  only  about  a  foot  space  in  front  while 
the  rear  end  was  about  two  and  a  half  feet  from 
the  ground.  I  took  my  gun  and  crawled  under 
the  house.  Presently  there  came  what  I  thought 
to  be  about  a  regiment,  and  several  stragglers. 
Finally  I  came  from  under  the  house.  I  gave 
my  hostess  the  gun  I'd  taken,  telling  her,  If  I 
do  not  call  for  it  it  shall  be  yours.  My  host  took 
my  hands,  shook  them  heartily,  saying,  "You 
are  a  hero;"  I  laughed,  saying,  Well,  I  saved 
your  bacon;  Good  bye;  I  am  much  obliged  to 
you  for  your  kind  hospitality,  and  if  it  had  not 
been  for  those  fellows  we  would  have  had  a  good 
time.  I  started  on  my  philanthropic  errand, 
not  knowing  if  I  would  find  the  sick  men  dead 
or  alive.  I  had  gone  but  a  few  hundred  yards 
when  I  met  a  Federal  soldier  marching  hastily 
to  catch  up.  He  said,  Are  they  far  ahead;  I 
said,  No,  about  five  hundred  yards  or  a  quarter 
of  a  mile.  You  are  going  the  wrong  way,  said 
he.  I  answered,  I  am  not  going  far,  I  lost  some- 
thing. Further  on  I  met  two  more,  who  like  the 
first,  took  me  for  a  Federal.  One  said,  Comrade 
you  are  going  the  wrong  way.  I  said,  I  am  not 
going  far.  How  far  behind  are  we  I  I  said,  Not 
far,  a  few  hundred  yards.  And  so  within  about 
one  and  a  half  mile  I  met  a  dozen  stragglers, 


184  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

walking  to  catch  up,  all  comparatively  asking  the 
same  questions,  and  to  which  I  replied  alike. 
When  about  four  hundred  yards  in  front  of  me, 
and  about  alike  in  the  rear  of  the  last  straggler 
I  saw  four  horsemen,  riding  abreast,  holding 
their  carbines  by  the  barrel  and  resting  the  butt 
on  their  thighs.  I  recognized  them  as  Confed- 
erates. I  walked  up  to  them,  asking,  What 
troops  do  you  belong  to?  Harvey's  Scouts  of 
Porrests'  Cavalry,  was  their  reply.  Are  there 
any  others  behind?  Yes.  How  fnr?  The  rear 
of  the  enemy's  column  is  about  two  miles  ahead 
of  you,  said  I,  and  there  are  about  a  dozen  strag- 
glers, some  with  >guns,  and  some  have  none; 
they  are  separated  several  hundred  yards  apart, 
some  single  and  some  in  pairs ;  if  you  spur  up 
you  can  catch  the  whole  gang;  I'll  tell  those  men 
ahead  of  me  to  hurry  up.  Where  is  Capt.  Har- 
vey? You'll  find  him  in  the  Exchange  Hotel, 
in  town.  They  at  once  put  spurs  to  their  horses 
and  galloped  on,  and  I  followed  my  course 
towards  the  city.  I  met  the  reinforcements 
some  little  distance  ahead  of  me,  and  reported 
what  I  had  seen  and  told  their  advance  scouts. 
They  all  went  at  full  speed,  and  later,  I  saw  the 
whole  gang  of  stragglers  brought  in.  I  asked 
Capt.  Harvey  what  had  become  of  the  inmates 
at  the  hospital.  He  said  he  did  not  know  for  he 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  185 

had  just  arrived  that  morning.  I  went  to  the 
hospital,  found  things  in  rather  bad  shape  and 
the  inmates  gone.  After  careful  investigation 
I  heard  that  the  Ladies  Belief  Association  had 
taken  care  of  the  sick  and  that  they  were  well 
provided  for. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

Dr.  Crawford  followed  General  Hood's  army 
and  established  headquarters  at  Corinth,  Miss. 
I  followed  at  once,  as  soon  as  I  could  locate 
him.  I  bought  what  provisions  I  could  along 
the  stations.  At  Columbus,  Miss.,  some  Feder- 
als who  came  there  to  tear  up  the  track  fired  in 
the  train  as  we  passed;  several  of  the  passen- 
gers were  wounded  but  General  Forrest 
appeared  at  that  moment  on  the  scene  and 
routed  the  enemy,  killing  and  wounding  quite  a 
number  of  them,  and  thus  preventing  the 
wreckage  of  the  railroad  track.  The  car  I  rode 
in  was  riddled  with  bullets,  but  I  escaped 
unhurt;  several  of  the  passengers  had  a  close 
call. 

While  at  Corinth  I  was  deputized  to  carry  a 
message  to  the  front,  this  side  of  Franklin,  Ten- 
nessee. I  arrived  in  time  where  General  Beau- 
ford's  men  had  a  brush  with  the  enemy.  A  stray 
bullet  hit  me  in  the  thigh,  and  for  a  time  I 
thought  I  was  seriously  hurt.  I  was  close  to 
a  little  stream  of  water.  I  had  my  leg  tied  above 
the  wound  with  my  handkerchief  and  put  it  in 
the  running  stream.  A  surgeon  came  to  probe 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  187 

my  wound,  but  trembled  like  a  man  having  the 
palsy,  and  I  told  him  he  must  not  touch  me  any 
further;  he  could  hardly  put  his  probe  in  the 
hole  made  by  the  bullet.  After  a  while  I  was 
picked  up  and  sent  to  the  rear  where  I  was  cared 
for  by  Dr.  Crawford,  who  was  very  sorry  and 
regretted  having  sent  me.  My  wound  was  doing 
so  well  and  there  was  no  inflammation  taking 
place,  and  by  keeping  cold  applications  on  it  I 
was  able  to  be  about  in  less  than  two  weeks.  Dr. 
Crawford  said  I  did  the  best  thing  that  could  be 
done  by  keeping  inflammation  down  by  putting 
my  leg  in  the  stream.  The  wound  did  so  well 
that  he  would  not  bother  it  to  extract  the  ball, 
and  so  I  still  carry  it  as  a  memento  of  the  war. 
While  at  Corinth  the  ladies  of  Washington 
county  sent  me  a  box.  The  battle  of  Franklin 
was  fought  and  a  victory  dearly  bought.  Two 
weeks  later  the  battle  of  Nashville  was  fought, 
and  General  Hood's  magnificent  army  nearly 
annihilated.  They  came  through  Corinth  the 
worst  conditioned  men  I  ever  laid  my  eyes  upon. 
There  I  met  Lieut.  John  T.  Gross  of  this  County 
and  Capt.  Joe  Polhill  of  Louisville,  Ga.,  and 
about  twenty  of  their  command.  They  were 
hungry  and  in  rags;  I  said,  ''Boys,  you  are  in  a 
bad  fix."  Capit.  Polhill  said,  "Ike,  can  you  tell 
me  where  I  can  get  something  to  eat;  I  am 


188  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

starved."  I  said  I  had  just  heard  that  there 
was  a  box  in  the  depot  for  me,  let  us  see  what  is 
in  it.  I  took  fthe  crowd  up  to  the  hospital  and  all 
got  something  to  eat.  The  hospital  wagon  went 
to  the  depot  and  got  the  box.  It  was  a  large 
box,  and  was  filled  to  the  top  with  clothes  and 
eatables.  Lieut.  Gross,  who  was  barefooted, 
I  supplied  with  a  pair  of  broken  shoes.  Many 
of  the  provisions  were  cooked.  I  took  out  some 
checked  shirts  and  knit  socks  and  a  pair  of 
pants  and  jacket  and  divided  the  rest  among  the 
boys,  who  were  all  from  Jefferson  and  Wash- 
ington counties,  and  even  to  this  day  Capt.  Pol- 
hill  declares  I  saved  his  life.  He  is  still  one  of 
the  Vets,  and  a  useful  and  honored  citizen  of 
Louisville,  Ga. 

Corinth  at  that  time  when  I  saw  it,  was  only 
a  railroad  station  with  an  improvised  station 
house  or  warehouse.  A  few  chimneys  here  and 
there  indicated  where  had  previously  stood 
some  houses.  It  is  not  far  from  the  Tennessee 
river,  about  ten  miles  from  Shiloh,  where  Albert 
Sidney  Johnson,  from  Texas,  -was  killed  and 
General  Beauregard  saved  the  day.  During 
my  convalescence  I  walked  over  some  of  the  bat- 
tle ground.  Being  tired  I  sat  down  on  a  log. 
There  were  two  logs  touching  each  other  length- 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  189 

ways.  They  had  been  large  trees,  about  two  and 
a  half  to  three  feet  in  diameter.  Playing  on  the 
ground  with  my  crutch  I  unearthed  a  bullet; 
presently  I  scratched  up  another.  I  noted  that 
the  logs  were  riddled  with  bullets.  I  picked  up 
over  one  hundred  pounds  of  musket  balls  in  a 
space  not  over  twenty-five  feet  square.  How  any 
escaped  such  a  shower  of  lead  in  such  a  small 
place  can't  be  possible.  Undoubtedly  those  logs 
had  served  as  a  protection  behind  which  those 
brave  fellows  sent  forth  in  the  ranks  of  their 
adversaries  a  similar  amount  of  death  dealing 
missiles. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

This  brings  us  towards  the  last  part  of  De- 
cember, 1864.  When  General  Hood  planned  his 
campaign  to  the  rear  of  General  Sherman,  in- 
stead of  following  General  Johnston's  tactics 
and  thns  leaving  the  balance  of  the  State  of 
Georgia  to  the  tender  mercies  of  our  adversa- 
ries, who  had  no  mercy  or  respect  for  age  nor 
sex,  but  wantonly  destroyed  by  fire  and  sword 
whatever  they  could  lay  their  hands  on,  save  the 
booty  and  relics  with  which  they  were  loaded. 
Howell's  battery,  on  account  of  their  horses 
being  exhausted,  could  not  follow  General 
Hood's  army  into  Tennessee,  and  were  ordered 
to  Macon  to  recruit.  This  Company  had  seen  ar- 
duous service  from  Chickamauga  to  Atlanta,  in- 
cluding Jonesboro.  After  the  battle  of  Chicka- 
mauga, one  of  the  hardest  contests  of  the  war, 
in  which  the  confederate  forces  were  successful, 
Howell  's  battery  had  the  honor  to  open  the  bat- 
tle from  the  extreme  right,  on  the  18th  day  of 
September,  1863.  On  the  19th,  which  was  on 
Saturday,  the  fight  was  progressing  furiously, 
with  no  results,  both  armies  holding  their  own, 
but  on  Sunday  morning  our  forces  centered  their 
attack  on  the  enemy's  center,  charged  through 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  191 

their  lines  and  rolled  them  back  in  complete  dis- 
order, and  the  victory  was  ours.  General  Bragg 
rested  his  forces  for  a  few  days  and  renewed  the 
fight  around  Chattanooga,  Lookout  Mountain 
and  Missionary  Ridge.  He  found  the  enemy 
well  fortified  and  ready.  The  battle  was  a  san- 
guinary one;  Howell's  battery  besides  losing 
two  pieces  of  artillery,  which  were  recovered  in 
the  evening  and  returned  to  us,  lost  in  wounded, 
Leonidas  Hines,  Frank  Bailey  and  Corporal 
Braswell,  and  captured  James  Mullen,  John  S. 
Kelley,  John  Tompkins  and  John  Braswell. 
That  night  General  Bragg  withdrew  as  quietly 
as  possible  and  went  into  camp  at  Dalton,  where 
we  spent  in  winter  quarters.  At  Macon  they  did 
provost  duty  under  direction  of  General  Howell 
Cobb.  The  writer  drifted  back  through  Ala- 
bama expecting  to  rejoin  Dr.  Crawford  as  soon 
as  he  would  locate,  and  being  intercepted  by 
Federal  troops  I  reported  to  the  nearest  Confed- 
erate post,  which  proved  to  be  General  Beau- 
fort from  Kentucky,  a  cavalry  officer  at  Union 
Springs,  Alabama.  General  Abe  Beaufort  was 
of  colossal  stature  and  an  able  officer,  so  I  re- 
ported to  him  for  duty  until  I  could  join  my 
proper  command.  He  said,  Have  you  a  horse? 
We  are  cavalry.  I  said,  No,  but  I  expect  to  get 
one  the  first  fight  we  get  into.  He  laughed  and 


192  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETEHAST 

said,  Well,  you  can  hang  around  here.  I  stayed 
at  his  quarters  several  days.  One  day  he  seemed 
to  be  worried  more  than  usual;  I  ventured  to 
say,  "  General,  You  seem  to  be  worried  over 
something."  He  said,  "I  have  enough  to  worry 
about; there  is  General  Forrest  at  Selma;!  have 
sent  him  two  couriers  and  neither  of  them  have 
reported;  I  don't  know  what  became  of  them, 
whether  they  have  been  captured,  killed  or  run 
away.  I  want  to  hear  from  General  Forrest  so 
that  we  can  act  in  concert  of  action."  The  Fed- 
erals who  held  possession  of  Montgomery  under 
General  Wilson's  corps  d'army,  who  later  cap- 
tured President  Jefferson  Davis  in  Irwin  Coun- 
ty, Ga.,  during  the  several  days  of  my  hanging 
around  at  General  Beaufort's  Headquarters,  he 
Disked  me  how  long  I  had  been  in  the  service.  I 
said,  "I  joined  the  first  Company  that  left  my 
county  and  the  first  regiment  that  left  my 
State."  How  long  had  you  been  in  this  coun- 
try before  the  war  broke  out  1  I  answered  that  I 
came  to  Georgia  direct  from  France  in  the  Fall 
of  1859,  about  sixteen  months  before  I  enlisted. 
I  found  in  this  country  an  ideal  and  harmonious 
people ;  they  treated  me  as  one  of  their  own ;  in 
fact  for  me,  it  was  the  land  of  Canaan  where 
milk  and  honey  flowed.  In  the  discussion  of  the 
political  issues  I  felt,  with  those  that  I  was  in 


WAB  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  193 

contact  with,  that  they  were  grossly  imposed 
upon  by  their  Northern  brethren  and  joined  my 
friends  in  their  defence,  and  so  here  I  am,  some- 
what worsted,  but  still  in  the  ring.  I  said,  Gen- 
eral I  have  an  idea;  I  think  I  can  carry  a  dis- 
patch that  will  land.  I  have  in  my  possession  at 
home  my  French  passport.  I  can  write  for  it 
and  use  it  by  going  squarely  through  their  lines, 
as  being  an  alien.  I  can  change  my  clothes  for 
some  citizens  clothes.  After  a  little  reflection 
General  Beaufort  said,  "Hermann,  you  are  an 
angel;  it's  the  very  idea."  So  we  arranged  to 
write  at  once  for  my  pass.  It  came  in  due  time. 
The  lady  of  the  house  where  the  General  kept 
his  quarters  furnished  me  with  a  suit  of  jeans 
cloth,  but  begged  the  General  not  to  send  me  for 
fear  I  might  meet  with  reverses.  But  the  Gen- 
eral said,  He  is  all  right,  he  can  work  the  scheme. 
That  night  I  started  about  ten  o'clock,  on  horse- 
back, with  two  escorts.  It  was  a  starlight  night. 
We  passed  for  some  distance  through  a  dense 
swamp.  The  General  cautioned  me  to  be  careful 
and  on  the  lookout,  an  admonition  I  thought  en- 
tirely unnecessary.  He  said  the  enemy's  camp 
was  about  twelve  miles  distant,  and  that  they 
had  a  company  of  scouts  out  that  night,  and  so 
had  we,  but  as  we  journeyed  along  at  a  walk  the 
lightning  bugs  were  so  thick  as  to  blind  a  fellow 


194  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

anJ  the  swamp  so  dark  that  we  could  only  desig- 
nate the  road  by  the  distance  and  open  space  of 
the  tree  tops  and  the  stars.  We  did  not  how- 
ever, meet  any  of  the  scouts.  On  emerging 
from  the  swamp  I  noticed  on  my  right  a  small 
farm  cottage  and  a  dim  light  through  the  cracks 
of  the  door,  I  dismounted,  knocked  at  the  door. 
At  first  no  one  answered.  I  knocked  again  when 
a  lady's  feeble  voice  answered,  Who  is  there?  A 
friend,  was  the  reply.  Open  the  door  please.  The 
door  opened  and  there  stood  in  front  of  me  an 
old  lady  of  about  seventy,  I  judged,  nearly 
scared  to  death,  trembling  from  head  to  foot.  To 
re-assure  her  I  said,  Madam,  we  are  Southerners 
flon't  be  frightened,  we  won't  do  you  any  harm. 
Can  you  tell  me  how  far  it  is  from  here  to  the 
enemy's  camp?  She  answered  very  excitedly 
that  she  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  war,  she  is 
only  a  lone  woman  and  we  can't  cheat  her  out  of 
many  years.  You  all  have  stolen  all  my  meat 
and  did  not  leave  me  a  mouthful  of  corn  or  meat, 
and  I  am  left  here  to  starve  to  death.  I  said, 
But  we  are  Confederates;  but  I  noticed  the 
woman  did  not  believe  me,  undoubtedly  owing 
to  my  brogue,  as  there  were  thousands  of  for- 
eigners in  the  federal  army.  I  lit  a  match  and 
scrutinized  the  ground  and  noted  the  doors  of 
the  outhouse  wide  open,  houses  empty  and  the 


WAB  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  195 

ground  churned  into  dust  by  the  horses  hoofs. 
Undoubtedly  we  were  not  far  from  the  enemy, 
as  they  were  there  that  day  and  looted  the  prem- 
ises. I  bid  the  lady  good  night  and  joined  my 
escort  who  waited  for  me  in  the  road.  As  I  was 
about  to  mount  my  horse  I  perceived  ahead  of 
me  through  the  limbs  of  the  trees,  a  bright 
light.  The  lady  was  still  standing  in  the  door, 
and  I  asked  her  what  that  light  was  we  saw- 
ahead  of  us.  She  said  they  were  the  negro 
quarters  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  ahead,  and  I 
thanked  her  and  we  moved  a  little  forward  and 
held  consultation  as  to  what  was  best  to  do, 
whether  they  should  return  to  camp  leading  my 
horse  back  and  I  to  take  it  afoot  or  whether  we 
had  better  go  together  to  the  quarters,  probably 
they  might  get  a  few  potatoes  and  some  butter- 
milk, for  be  it  understood  that  we  belonged  to 
the  hungry  army  where  rations  became  very 
scarce,  for  as  a  rule  the  Confederate  soldier 
respected  private  property  and  often  suffered 
hunger  rather  than  appropriate  property  be- 
longing to  others.  They  concluded  they  might 
buy  something  to  eat  from  the  darkies.  The 
negroes  in  those  days,  as  before  the  war,  always 
had  a  surplus  of  provisions.  They  were  well 
fed,  in  fact  most  of  them  made  their  own  provis- 
ions with  the  exception  of  meat,  their  owner 


196  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

allowing  them  patches  and  giving  them  time  to 
cultivate  the  same  for  their  own  use  or  to  sell 
with  their  master's  permission,  which  was  gen- 
erally only  a  matter  of  form  or  respect. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

In  keeping  my  eyes  to  the  front  watching  the 
light,  we  came  to  an  open  field  on  the  right.  On 
the  left  of  the  road  was  a  dense  forest.  I  noted 
some  one  crossing  the  light  and  heard  some  one 
screaming  and  hollering  like  negroes  carous- 
ing. Presently  the  same  person  recrossed  and 
I  thought  there  must  be  some  Federals  about 
there  and  we  stopped  to  consult.  I  conclude 
that  I  would  take  it  afoot  and  reconnoiter  while 
my  escort  would  enter  the  woods  where  we  stood 
and  wait  for  me  until  I  returned.  I  took  the 
darker  side  of  the  road  along  the  woods  until  I 
arrived  close  to  the  premises,  and  I  circum- 
vented the  place.  I  noted  a  double  pen  log  house 
with  a  large  chimney  at  one  end  and  a  rousing 
lightwood  fire  in  it.  A  step  over  fence  about  five 
rails  high  surrounded  the  yard  in  which  stood 
a  very  large  oak  tree,  the  limbs  of  which  hung 
low,  a  little  above  a  man's  head.  To  those  limbs 
were  hitched  three  splendid  horses.  In  the 
house  were  three  Federals,  enjoying  their  sur- 
roundings. The  house  had  a  front  and  back  en- 
trance and  the  fire  in  the  chimney  cast  its  light 
some  distance,  front  and  rear,  around  the  prem- 
ises. I  hurried  back  to  my  comrades  and  made 


198  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

my  report  as  above,  and  I  suggested  a  line  of 
action  as  follows :  We  will  leave  our  horses  on 
the  road  side,  about  two  hundred  yards  this 
side  the  house.  One  of  us  will  enter  the  back 
side  as  I  enter  the  front,  and  one  of  you  follow 
me ;  Are  you  willing.  If  you  do  as  I  say  we  will 
capture  those  fellows  without  firing  a  shot.  The 
youngest  of  the  escort  was  a  young  man  of  about 
19  years;  the  other  was  21  years  old.  The 
younger  said,  General  Beauford  told  us  to  obey 
your  orders,  and  I  am  ready  to  do  what  you  tell 
me  to  do.  I  said,  Bravo,  my  boy.  The  other 
one  was  silent,  I  remarked,  what  do  you  say? 
He  tried  to  answer  but  his  teeth  chattered  and 
he  was  trembling  so  he  could  hardly  speak.  I 
said,  What  is  the  matter  with  you,  are  you 
scared?  He  said,  No,  I  am  excited.  You  must 
compose  yourself  if  you  follow  my  advice  and 
do  exactly  what  I  say  and  we  will  capture  those 
fellows  without  firing  a  gun,  but  there  must  be 
no  wobble,  or  they  may  turn  the  joke  on  us.  I 
told  the  youngest  to  hold  his  gun  ready  for  use 
and  to  make  a  detour  around  the  house  and  face 
the  back  entrance,  and  I  would  give  him  time  to 
get  in  position,  and  as  I  enter  the  front  door  he 
must  enter  the  back  door,  and  we  must  get  the 
drop  on  them,  otherwise  they  might  get  it  on  us. 
I  told  the  other  fellow  to  follow  me  and  do  as  I 


"WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  199 

do  and  not  to  fire  unless  I  do.  I  carried  a  couple 
of  colts  pistols.  As  we  entered  the  negro  women 
and  the  men  were  sitting  on  benches  before  the 
fire,  when  I  exclaimed,  surrender!  in  the  mean- 
time covering  them  with  my  pistols  and  the 
guns  of  my  comrades.  They  jumped  as  if 
lightning  has  struck  them.  "Unbuckle  your 
weapons  or  you  are  dead  men;  be  quick  about 
it. ' '  My  orders  were  executed  with  alacrity  and 
we  marched  them  out  of  the  house.  In  the  far 
end  of  the  house  I  spied  a  plow  line  hanging 
from  a  nail  in  the  wall.  I  appropriated  the 
same  and  we  unhitched  the  horses  and  walked 
to  where  ours  were.  Not  a  word  was  spoken 
by  either  of  us.  The  horses  were  brought  for- 
ward and  the  prisoners  mounted.  The  plow  line 
served  to  pinion  their  legs  under  the  animals  be- 
low. All  this  was  done  as  quickly  as  possible. 
When  the  prisoners  realized  that  we  were  but 
three,  one  of  them  commenced  being  obtrusive 
and  talking  loud  and  abusive.  I  cautioned  him 
and  his  comrades  that  unless  they  moved  along 
quietly  and  not  talk  above  a  whisper  we  would 
be  compelled  to  leave  them  by  the  roadside,  for 
some  one,  unknown  to  us,  to  bury  them.  My 
admonition  had  a  good  effect,  and  our  cavalcade 
advanced  in  a  lope,  one  leading  the  horses,  the 
prisoners  were  riding  by  the  bridle  reins,  and 


200  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

I  and  the  other  man  closing  up  the  rear.  I  was 
fearful  ;of  meeting  some  of  their  scouting  par- 
ties, of  which  General  Beaufort  advised  me  of 
on  our  departure,  but  it  seemed  that  they  were 
in  some  other  direction  from  us,  for  we  noted  the 
firmament  in  every  direction  lit  up  by  an  aurora 
borealis  from  the  burning  houses  those*  mis- 
creants set  afire.  When  arriving  close  to  our 
pickets  we  halted.  I  sent  one  of  my  escort  in 
advance  to  announce  our  arrival  so  as  not  to  be 
fired  into,  as  it  was  only  day  break  and  still  too 
dark  to  be  recognized.  I  rode  at  once  to  Gen- 
eral Beaufort's  headquarters  to  report.  He  was 
still  in  bed ;  the  guard  admitted  me.  He  said,  I 
thought  you  were  on  your  way  to  Selma.  I  said, 
General,  I  met  with  an  accident  and  came  back. 
An  accident  said  he !  So  I  stated  that  acciden- 
tally I  captured  three  Federals  and  got  me  a 
horse  at  my  first  opportunity.  He  got  up  and 
dressed,  had  the  prisoners  brought  before  him 
and  commenced  questioning  them  but  they  were 
very  reticent  and  evaded  many  of  his  questions. 
General  Beaufort  was  very  anxious  to  find  out 
the  strength  of  his  adversary  in  his  immediate 
front  and  their  destination.  I  suggested  that  I 
change  my  clothing  for  the  uniform  of  one  of  the 
prisoners  who  was  my  size,  and  ride  in  their 
line.  He  said,  That  is  a  very  dangerous  busi- 


WAB  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  201 

ness ;  if  you  are  trapped  they  will  hang  you.  I 
said,  I  am  in  for  the  war;  life  as  it  is  is  not 
worth  much,  I'll  take  the  chances.  So  that  night 
after  midnight  I  passed  again  our  videttes,  in 
company  with  two  escorts  who  accompanied  me 
for  company  sake  for  a  few  miles,  when  they 
returned  to  camp  and  I  went  it  alone.  After 
passing  the  cottage  of  the  old  lady  where  we 
sought  information,  the  previous  night,  I  put 
my  horse  at  full  speed  and  passed  the  negro 
quarters.  No  one  was  astir  and  I  continued  my 
course  for  about  three  miles  when  I  saw  some 
obstruction  in  the  road  on  the  brow  of  the  hill. 
Halt,  was  the  command.  I  halted,  at  within 
about  seventy-five  yards.  Who  comes.  A  friend. 
Seeing  that  I  was  alone  I  was  asked  to  advance. 
As  I  approached  I  noted  that  there  was  a  rail 
fence  across  the  road,  behind  which  were  two 
sentinels,  their  muskets  pointing  at  me.  I  re- 
marked as  I  crossed  the  fence,  Didn't  I  have  a 
race;  those  four  rebels  run  me  clean  to  nearly 
where  I  am.  My  horse  was  steaming  wet.  I 
said,  You  see  that  fire  yonder;  we  set  the  gin 
house  afire  when  the  rebels  came  up  and  gave 
me  a  hot  chase.  The  sentinels  were  all  excite- 
ment and  kept  their  eyes  to  the  front.  I  had 
dismounted  and  placed  myself  in  line  with  them. 
I  could  have  killed  them  both  but  that  was  not 


202  MEMORIES  OP  A  VETERAN 

my  object.  Finally,  seeing  no  one  coming,  I 
said  they  must  have  gone  back.  I  mounted  my 
steed  and  slowly  rode  up,  in  a  walk,  where  I 
saw  what  I  thought  was  the  main  camp,  but  it 
was  only  what  was  known  as  the  grand  guard  of 
about  a  half  a  regiment  of  cavalry.  Taking  in 
the  surroundings  at  a  glance  I  noted  the  horses 
hitched  in  the  corners  of  the  fence  along  the 
road  and  the  men  some  lying,  some  sitting  on 
improvised  seats  around  their  camp  fire.  I  at 
once  rode  to  an  empty  corner  in  the  fence  and 
hitched  my  horse  and  walked  to  a  fire  where 
most  of  the  men  were  lying  down,  seemingly 
sleeping.  There  lay  one  empty  blanket  on  the 
ground  and  I  laid  myself  down  on  it,  facing  the 
fire,  which  felt  pretty  good,  for  I  was  chilled,  the 
night  being  cold.  As  I  pretended  to  take  a  nap 
some  fellow  gave  me  a  hunch  with  his  foot,  say- 
ing, Hello  comrade,  you  are  lying  on  my  blan- 
ket. I  grunted  a  little  and  turned  some  further 
when  he  pulled  the  blanket  from  under  me. 
This  seemingly  roused  me,  and  I  was  wide 
awake.  I  stretched  out  my  arms  as  if  I  were 
yawning,  addressing  myself  to  the  men  next  to 
me,  "This  is  a  terrible  life  to  lead.  Where  are 
we  going?  To  Savannah.  I  heard  some  say 
Savannah.  That  is  in  Georgia,  a  long  ways 
from  here ;  I  am  afraid  some  of  us  will  never  get 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  203 

there ;  I  heard  that  there  is  an  army  of  fifteen 
thousand  rebels  ahead  of  us  within  fifteen  miles 
of  here. ' '  He  answered,  That  would  not  amount 
to  much  with  what  we  have.  I  thought  I  would 
stretch  as  far  as  I  could  reasonably  do  so,  for 
General  Beauford's  force  was  only  1,500  strong. 
You  say  that  would  not  amount  to  much  with 
what  we  have  to  oppose  them?  He  said  Wil- 
son's Corps  amounts  to  nearly  25,000.  0,  not 
that  much.  He  commenced  to  enumerate  dif- 
ferent regiments,  the  number  of  cannon,  etc., 
etc.  All  at  once  I  heard  the  bugle  blast ' '  Call  to 
Horse,"  and  everything  was  active.  What's  the 
matter  I  said,  seeing  everybody  catching  their 
horses?  He  answered,  Did  you  not  get  three 
days  rations?  I  said,  Yes.  Well  we  are  going 
to  advance.  I  run  to  my  horse  and  mounted.  I 
felt  that  I  had  to  advise  General  Beauford  of 
this  move,  and  not  to  pass  the  picket  post  that  I 
did  coming  in  I  took  down  the  railroad  track 
which  run  parallel  the  wagon  road  some  dis- 
tance, but  to  my  surprise  there  was  a  vidette 
post  there  of  two  sentinels.  They  halted  me, 
saying,  You  can't  pass.  I  remarked  that  they 
will  be  relieved  in  a  few  minutes,  that  our  forces 
are  advancing.  There  being  a  nice  spring  of 
water  in  sight,  just  to  the  left  of  the  road  I 
wanted  to  fill  my  canteen  full  of  water.  The  road 


204  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETEBAN 

being  very  dusty  I  suggested  that  I  would  fill 
theirs  if  they  wished  me  to  in  the  meantime. 
I'll  be  back  in  a  few  seconds.  So  they  handed 
me  their  canteens  and  I  put  the  spurs  to  my 
horse.  Further  on  I  turned  to  the  left  into  the 
wagon  road  and  post  haste  and  at  full  gallop 
rode  into  our  camp,  which  was  twelve  miles 
ahead  of  me.  The  cap  which  I  had  borrowed 
from  one  of  our  prisoners  was  a  little  too  big 
for  my  head  and  in  my  haste  to  reach  camp  blew 
off.  I  did  not  stop  to  pick  it  up,  but  reached 
camp  in  about  three  quarters  of  an  hour.  It 
still  being  a  little  before  day  a  bullet  passed  me 
in  close  proximity  and  I  knew  that  I  was  close  to 
our  lines.  I  stopped  and  held  up  both  hands. 
The  bad  marksmanship  of  the  sentinel  saved 
me  from  being  shot.  I  at  once  rode  up  to  the 
General's  quarters,  was  admitted  by  the  senti- 
nel and  made  my  report.  He  was  still  in  bed, 
but  he  got  up  and  ordered  two  companies  of 
Col.  Armistead's  Regiment  to  the  front  and  de- 
ployed into  a  skirmish  line.  In  less  than  an 
hour  we  heard  the  firing.  All  the  forces  were 
astir,  and  we  withdrew  towards  West  Point, 
Georgia,  thus  giving  the  enemy  the  right  of  way. 
The  General  asked  me  if  I  held  any  commission. 
I  said,  Yes,  high  private  in  the  rear  ranks. 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  205 

Well,  I  '11  see  that  you  will  be  promoted  when  I 
make  my  report  to  the  war  department.  I  need 
a  hundred  men  just  like  you. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

That  evening  I  donned  my  disguise  as 
a  citizen,  and  advanced,  as  before,  to  go 
through  their  lines  as  an  alien.  I  rode  as 
before  as  far  as  my  judgment  would  permit 
to  prevent  the  capture  of  my  escort,  when 
I  took  it  afoot  to  carry  out  the  program 
first  suggested.  I  walked  about  four  miles  and 
day  was  breaking.  As  two  nights  previous,  the 
country  indicated  depredations  by  fires.  When 
I  again,  as  the  night  before,  saw  obstructions  in 
front  of  me,  I  walked  within  twenty-five  or 
thirty  paces  up  to  it  when  I  was  commanded  to 
halt  and  challenged  as  to  who  comes  there, 
their  muskets  pointing  at  me.  I  said,  "Me  no 
speaky  English,  je  parle  Francais."  Where 
are  you  going?  Me  no  stand  English.  They 
made  me  a  sign  to  sit  down  by  the  side  of  the 
obstructive  fence,  after  having  let  me  cross  their 
barricade.  About  fifteen  minutes  later  an  offi- 
cer with  the  relief  guard  came  up.  Who's  that 
you  got  there?  How  did  he  get  here?  They 
answered  I  walked  up.  He  is  a  foreigner  and 
can 't  speak  our  language.  Turning  to  me  he  said, 
where  are  you  going?  "  Je  ne  comprenspas,  je 
parle  francais."  So  he  made  me  signs  to  fol- 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  207 

low  him,  which  I  did.  He  conducted  me  to  a 
large  camp  fire  where  I  saw  several  men  guard- 
ing others  and  recognized  them  to  be  Confede- 
rates. This  was  the  first  time  I  felt  my  danger; 
I  was  afraid  that  there  might  be  some  among 
the  prisoners  that  might  have  seen  me  before 
and  might  recognize  me.  However  my  fears 
were  without  cause  as  I  did  not  know  any  of 
them.  About  eight  o'clock  a.  m.,  the  Provost 
Marshall  General  came  around  and  addressed 
himself  to  me.  Who  are  you,  said  he.  As  be- 
fore, I  said  je  parle  francais.  Oh,  you  are  a 
Frenchman.  Well,  I  will  get  some  one  that  can 
speak  to  you.  He  ordered  one  of  the  guards  to 
go  to  a  Canadian  Company  and  ask  the  Captain 
to  send  him  a  man  that  could  speak  French  and 
English.  Presently  a  young  soldier  presented 
himself.  The  Provost  took  him  aside  and  I  pre- 
tended not  to  notice  them.  They  stepped  to 
within  a  few  paces  of  me ;  when  I  heard  the  Pro^ 
vost  say  to  him,  Pump  him.  I  thought,  He  will 
be  welcome  to  all  he  will  get  out  of  me.  He 
stepped  up  to  me  and  talked  to  me  in  French. 
I  appeared  to  be  so  glad  to  meet  one  I  could  talk 
to,  that  I  did  not  give  him  an  opportunity  to 
ask  me  a  single  question.  I  told  him  how  I  came 
here  in  the  fall  of  1859,  pulling  out  my  passport 
which  he  scrutinized  and  handed  over  to  the 


208  MEMOIKS  OF  A  VETERAN 

Provost,  who  in  turn  looked  at  the  same.  I  told 
him  that  I  made  a  mistake  coming  here,  that  the 
people  made  it  very  unpleasant  to  me  because  I 
would  not  enlist;  that  I  had  to  leave  Georgia, 
and  I  am  now  on  my  way  to  New  Orleans,  which 
I  heard  the  port  was  open  so  as  to  see  the 
French  consul  to  assist  me  back  to  France ;  that 
I  am  tired  of  this  land  where  people  murder 
each  other.  During  all  of  our  conversation  the 
Provost  said,  What  does  he  say.  My  inter- 
locutor explained  and  then  they  all  would  laugh. 
Finally  I  said  that  I  was  hungry,  that  I  had  had 
nothing  to  eat  in  24  hours.  So  the  Provost  said, 
Boys,  can  you  fix  up  something  for  him  among 
you,  and  they  all  contributed  some  from  their 
rations  and  filled  my  haversack  full  of  substan- 
tial food,  and  besides  contributed  $10.00  in 
money.  I  thanked  them  and  started  off,  after 
being  told  that  I  could  go,  but  as  I  was  appar- 
ently green  I  asked  my  questioner  how  far  I 
was  from  New  Orleans  'and  if  there  were  any 
more  places  where  I  might  be  delayed,  when 
the  Provost  intervened  with  his,  What  did  he 
say?  Which  after  being  explained  to  him,  he 
said,  I  had  better  give  him  a  pass,  they  might 
take  him  up  on  the  other  end  of  the  line,  and  so 
he  wrote  on  a  slip  of  paper,  "Pass  the  bearer 
through  the  line,"  and  signed  his  name  in  such 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  209 

ehirography  that  I  could  not  read  it.  I  arrived 
into  Montgomery  late  that  afternoon,  and  re- 
ported, as  per  previous  arrangement  with  Col. 
Paul  to  Judge  Pollard,  whose  daughter  he  mar- 
ried, and  told  that  family  how  the  boys  were 
getting  along.  Judge  Pollard  was  a  stately  old 
gentleman  of  great  prominence  in  that  section 
of  the  country.  He  received  me  in  his  large  li- 
brary and  we  had  quite  a  long  conversation 
over  the  situation.  I  told  him  that  I  was  directed 
to  him  with  the  understanding  that  he  would 
provide  me  with  a  horse  so  that  I  might  continue 
my  journey  to  Selma.  He  shook  his  head  and 
said  I'll  see  what  can  be  done,  but  I  don't  be- 
lieve there  is  a  horse  to  be  got  within  ten  miles 
of  here ;  the  Yankees  stole  every  horse  and  mule 
they  could  lay  their  hands  on,  and  sure  enough 
he  was  unable  to  furnish  me  with  an  animal,  but 
thought  I  might,  by  making  a  long  detour  be- 
yond the  flanks  of  the  enemy's  columns,  be  able 
to  proceed.  That  morning  one  of  the  ladies  pre- 
sented me  with  a  tobacco  bag,  made  out  of  a 
piece  of  pink  merino,  and  the  initials  of  my 
name  embroidered  on  it  with  yellow  silk  and 
filled  with  smoking  tobacco,  and  a  shaker  pipe 
stuck  in  it.  It  was  quite  a  novelty  and  was 
highly  appreciated.  After  having  partaken  of 
a  substantial  breakfast  I  bid  my  host  and  his 


210  MEMORIES  OF  A  VETERAN 

family  good  bye,  visited  my  friends  Faber, 
Lewellen,  Coleman  and  other  acquaintances  of 
the  city,  all  of  which  had  their  tales  of  woe  and 
sufferings  to  account  at  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 
I  departed  for  Selma  on  foot.  I  was  weary  and 
depressed.  I  heard  that  I  was  again  in  close 
proximity  to  the  enemy  who  routed  Forrest 
from  that  city  and  came  within  a  fraction  of 
either  killing  or  capturing  him.  He  was  sur- 
rounded by  four  troopers  who  demanded  his  sur- 
render, when  he  threw  his  saber,  spurred  his 
horse  and  run  the  gauntlet  among  a  shower  of 
bullets.  I  heard  that  in  the  melee  he  received  a 
saber  cut  in  the  face.  I  felt  sick  at  heart  and 
physically  worn  out  and  took  a  rest  and  wended 
my  way  to  Col.  Bowen,,  who  was  glad  to  see  me 
and  offered  me  all  the  comforts  to  recruit  my 
strength.  I  remained  there  nearly  a  week.  I 
really  did  not  know  where  to  report  to,  General 
Beauford  being  on  the  retreat  before  Wilson's 
corps  who  came  from  via  Pensacola,  Florida. 
I  was  surrounded  on  every  side,  so  I  concluded 
to  retrace  my  way  back  to  Montgomery  but  when 
a  few  miles  from  Greenville  as  I  emerged  from1 
a  long  lane  at  the  end  of  which  the  road  turned 
into  a  forest  I  noted  some  Federal  soldiers.  I 
came  within  a  very  short  distance  of  them  be- 
fore seeing  them;  my  first  impulse  was  to  run 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  211 

back,  but  I  was  tired,  it  being  a  warm  day  and 
nothing  to  protect  me  from  the  bullets,  having 
an  open  lane  where  they  might  play  at  my  flee- 
ing figure.  I  concluded  to  give  up  on  demand, 
but  on  close  approach,  seeing  that  they  were 
negro  troops  I  regretted  not  having  taken  chan- 
ces, however  great,  of  escape,  especially  when 
I  was  asked  to  surrender  my  arms,  which  con- 
sisted of  a  couple  of  colts  6  inch  pistols,  one  of 
which  I  carried  in  a  scabbard  buckled  around 
me  and  the  other  in  the  belt  of  my  pants,  which 
were  tucked  in  my  boot  legs.  In  unbuckling  my 
belt  I  contracted  my  body  allowing  the  one  in 
my  pants  to  slide  down  my  leg  into  my  boot  and 
thus  only  surrendered  one  of  them.  The  other 
I  carried  on  as  I  marched.  The  friction  of  the 
barrel  on  the  ankle  of  my  foot  gave  me  excru- 
tiating  pains  but  I  continued  on  until  I  could 
feel  the  blood  on  the  inside  of  my  boot.  There 
were  other  prisoners,  among  them  General  Pil- 
low and  his  son,  George.  Arriving  in  Montgom- 
ery we  were  locked  up  in  the  Lehman  Brothers 
building  which  had  served  as  a  shoe  factory  for 
the  Confederate  Government.  I  intended  to  use 
my  weapon  at  the  first  opportunity  I  saw  to  gain 
my  liberty.  That  night  I  asked  for  a  doc  for  to 
dress  my  wounded  foot.  He  came  and  asked  me 
how  that  happened.  My  socks  adhered  to  the 


212  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

wounds  and  the  pains  it  gave  me  were  unbeara- 
ble. I  told  him  I  had  snagged  myself.  He 
dressed  my  wound  and  I  felt  relieved  to  a  great 
extent.  The  next  morning  I  sent  word  to  my 
friend  Faber  to  come  to  see  me  and  he  did  so.  I 
said  to  him  to  see  if  he  could  not  get  me  a  parole, 
after  he  had  told  me  that  he  had  had  some  Yan- 
kee officers  quartered  at  his  house,  saying  that 
they  were  all  Western  men  and  seemed  to  be 
clever  fellows.  He  promised  to  use  his  influence. 
Presently  he  returned  with  an  officer  and  I  wad 
turned  out  on  parole,  but  to  report  every  morn- 
ing at  nine  o'clock.  The  following  morning  1 
reported,  when  the  officer  commanded  one  of  the 
men  to  take  charge  of  me  and  lock  me  up.  1 
thought  the  jig  was  up,  that  probably  I  had  been 
reported  by  some  one  and  that  I  might  fare  the 
worst  for  it.  There  were  fifty  prisoners;  we 
were  all  called  out  to  form  into  line  and  from 
that  into  column,  and  marched  up  the  hill  to  the 
capitol,  where  we  received  some  salt  pork  and 
hard  tack  to  last  us  three  days.  We  were  iii 
formed  that  we  would  be  sent  to  Ship  Island,  a 
country  of  yellow  fever,  close  to  New  Orleans  in 
retaliation  of  Andersonville,  there  to  take  the 
chances  to  live  or  die;  undoubtedly  they  would 
have  preferred  the  latter.  About  one  o'clock  p. 
m.  a  courier  rode  up  to  the  capitol.  followed  by 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  213 


another.  Presently  \ve  were  in  formed  thai 
war  was  over,  that  General  Lee  had  surrendered 
and  that  Lincoln  was  assassinated  and  instead 
of  being  sent  to  Ship  Island  we  were  to  be  pa- 
roled under  promise  not  to  take  up  arms  again 
against  the  United  States,  until  properly  ex- 
changed. This  brings  us  up  to  the  early  part 
of  June  1865,  or  latter  part  of  May. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

Thus  it  will  be  noted  that  while  the  war  was 
over  in  the  East,  we  of  the  Western  army  didn't 
know  it  and  were  still  fighting,  all  communica- 
tion between  the  two  armies  being  cut  off.  My 
friend  Faber,  who  was  one  of  the  most  popular 
citizens  of  Montgomery  was  afterwards  elected 
Mayor  of  the  City.  The  following  morning  I 
prepared  to  wend  my  way  back  to  Georgia.  My 
foot  was  inflamed  and  gave  me  pain,  so  I  said  to 
a  Yankee  Sergeant  who  was  in  waiting  on  some 
of  the  officers  there  if  he  could  not  manage  to 
get  me  some  piece  of  a  horse  to  ride  as  I  was  a 
long  ways  from  home  and  in  a  crippled  condi- 
tion. He  said,  Yes,  if  I  would  give  him  my 
watch,  which  was  an  open  faced,  old  fashioned 
English  lever,  generally  called  bulls-eye.  I  ac- 
quiesced. We  marched  down  one  of  the  main 
thoroughfares.  We  halted  before  an  establish- 
ment which  was  used  as  a  guard  house  and  pre- 
viously had  served  as  a  store.  In  its  front  on 
the  sidewalk  was  a  cellar.  The  Sergeant  asked 
them  to  bring  out  that  horse,  and  in  the  mean- 
time asked  me  for  the  watch.  Thinking  of  him 
as  a  clever,  sympathetic  soul,  owing  to  his 
prompt  offer  of  assistance,  I  unhesitatingly 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  215 

handed  him  my  watch.  They  having  entered  the 
cellar,  they  lifted  out  of  its  confines  a  frame  of 
horse  so  poor  that  six  men  took  him  bodily  and 
placed  him  on  the  sidewalk.  He  was  actually 
nothing  but  skin  and  bones;  I  was  astonished 
that  life  could  have  existed  in  such  a  frame.  I 
said,  Is  this  the  best  you  can  do  for  me?  He 
said,  I  promised  you  a  horse  for  your  watch  and 
here  he  is,  and  he  left  me.  The  men  were  amused 
at  my  discomfiture.  I  finally  concluded  that  a 
bad  ride  is  better  than  a  good  walk  and  I  made 
the  best  of  a  bad  bargain.  I  asked  the  men  if 
they  could  get  me  a  bridle  and  saddle.  They  an- 
swered that  they  had  none,  so  I  made  me  a  hal- 
ter out  of  the  rope  around  his  neck,  pulled  off 
my  coat  as  padding  on  either  side  of  his  sharp 
backbone  so  as  to  serve  me  as  a  saddle  and  asked 
the  man  next  to  me  to  give  me  a  lift,  and  there 
I  was,  mounted,  representing  the  picture  of  Don 
Quixote  to  perfection.  I  urged  the  horse  for- 
ward and  the  men  hollered  Whoa!  which  com- 
mand he  was  only  too  eager  to  obey,  I  eventually 
got  away  from  that  place  and  took  the  Eufaula 
route  homeward.  It  was  four  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  and  I  was  only  four  miles  from  my 
starting  point.  The  animal  had  neither  eat  nor 
drunk  anything  while  in  my  possession  and  from 
his  looks  probably  not  in  several  days  previous. 


216  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

I  saw  as  I  passed  along  at  a  snail  gait,  a  corral 
by  the  side  of  the  road,  with  all  kinds  of  con- 
traband. There  were  negroes,  women  and  chil- 
dren, cattle  of  all  description  and  a  quantity  of 
mules  and  horses,  all  encircled  by  a  large  rope 
and  guarded  by  sentinels.  I  passed  a  soldier 
about  a  half  mile  from  this  place.  I  said  to  him, 
What  troops  are  those  on  the  right  hand  side  up 
the  hill?  He  said  they  were  cavalry.  I  con- 
cluded to  ride  up,  that  probably  I  might  induce 
the  officer  to  exchange  animals  with  me  so  as  to 
enable  me  to  get  along,  for  I  came  to  the  con- 
clusion to  abandon  my  steed  and  take  a  bad  walk 
in  preference  to  a  bad  ride.  As  I  approached 
the  camp  I  noticed  a  man  sitting  on  a  camp  stool, 
his  back  towards  me,  his  feet  propped  up 
against  a  large  tree,  reading  a  newspaper  and 
seemingly  greatly  preoccupied  as  he  did  not 
hear  my  approach.  He  was  in  negligee,  it  being 
a  very  warm  day ;  he  wore  nothing  but  his  pants 
and  a  spotted  white  blouse  shirt  and  was  bare- 
headed. I  left  my  horse  by  the  side  of  a  stump 
and  slid  off,  approaching  within  a  respectful 
distance  in  his  rear,  I  said,  Good  evening.  He 
jumped  like  he  had  been  shot.  I  said  excuse  me 
sir,  I  did  not  mean  to  scare  you.  So  he  peremp- 
torily said,  What  will  you  have?  I  answered, 
Are  you  the  commander  of  these  troops?  He 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  217 

said,  Yes ;  what  will  you  have?  I  answered  that 
I  was  a  paroled  prisoner  on  my  way  home ;  that 
I  was  crippled  and  had  a  long  ways  to  go.  The 
horse  I  got  I  bought  from  one  of  the  Federals 
for  a  silver  watch.  It  took  me  a  whole  day  to 
get  from  the  City  to  where  I  am;  that  I  had 
noted,  coming  along,  a  corral  with  many  loose 
horses  and  mules  and  I  ventured  to  see  if  he 
would  not  be  kind  enough  to  furnish  me  with  a 
better  mount  than  the  one  I  possessed.  He  re- 
plied, What  country  are  you  from!  I  am  from 
France.  How  long  have  you  been  in  the  army  ? 
Ever  since  the  war  started.  Were  you  forced 
into  the  army  or  did  you  volunteer?  I  volun- 
teered sir.  And  you  have  been  fighting  us  for 
over  four  years  and  now  come  and  ask  me  for  a 
favor  I  You  need  not  grant  it ;  good  bye.  And 
off  I  hobbled  to  where  I  left  my  horse  taking 
him  by  the  mane  I  led  him  up  to  the  stump  and 
was  about  to  mount  when  the  officer  commanded 
me,  Come  back  here,  said  he,  I  like  your  style. 
You  are  the  first  one  I've  met  but  what  was 
forced  into  the  army.  Tell  the  officer  in  charge 
of  the  corral  to  exchange  animals  with  you.  I 
remarked,  Colonel,  a  written  order  from  you 
might  have  a  better  effect.  He  laughed,  got  up 
and  walked  into  his  tent  and  when  he  returned 
he  handed  me  a  slip  of  paper  addressed  to  Capt. 


218  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

Ledger,  and  read  as  follows:  Exchange  ani- 
mals with  the  bearer;  Col.  York,  Com'd'g  7, 
Indiana  Cavalry.  I  thanked  him,  gave  the  mili- 
tary salute  and  retraced  my  steps  towards  the 
corral.  I  presented  my  note  to  the  Capt.  in 
charge;  he  said,  Pick  out  the  one  you  want. 
There  were  some  excellent  animals  but  many 
were  galled  and  not  serviceable  for  any  immedi- 
ate use.  I  spied  a  medium  sized,  plump  mule. 
She  was  in  excellent  order,  and  as  I  was  short 
in  funds  I  thought  I  could  tether  her  out  to  eat 
grass  and  thus  progress  without  having  to  buy 
food.  So  I  took  the  mule.  I  asked  him  if  he 
would  furnish  me  with  a  saddle  and  bridle,  and 
he  let  me  have  nearly  a  new  Mexican  saddle  and 
bridle  and  I  was  once  more  in  good  shape.  Capt. 
Ledger  asked  me  where  I  was  going.  I  said, 
Home,  in  Georgia.  Which  way?  I  am  on  my 
way  to  Eufaula.  So  he  said,  I  believe  I'll  ride  a 
piece  of  the  way  with  you.  He  had  his  horse 
caught,  which  was  a  magnificent  animal.  Riding 
along  side  by  side  I  remarked,  Captain  that  is 
a  splendid  horse  you  are  on.  He  said,  Yes,  I 
have  a  pair,  you  could  not  tell  one  from  the 
other;  they  are  spirited  animals  but  perfectly 
gentle.  Their  owner  must  have  prized  them 
highly ;  some  of  the  men  picked  them  up.  That's 
a  new  name  for  stealing,  said  I.  He  remarked, 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  219- 

I  suppose  so,  but  if  I  could  find  out  their  owner 
I  am  going  to  return  them  to  him ;  I  am  making; 
some  effort  towards  it.  I  said,  Well  sir,  it  does 
me  good  to  hear  you  say  so,  and  to  know  that 
there  are  some  men  of  feeling,  and  gentlemen 
among  your  army.  He  said,  Well,  war  is  war. 
It  is  true  that  many  acts  were  committed  unnec- 
essarily harsh,  but  I  am  glad  it  is  over  and  I 
hope  we  will  all  be  friends  again.  He  stopped, 
saying,  Well,  I  have  ridden  far  enough,  and  I 
am  going  back.  We  shook  hands,  he  wished  me 
a  safe  journey  and  cantered  back  to  his  camp. 
It  was  already  late  and  I  proceeded  as  far  as 
Fort  Browder  and  stopped  over  night  with  Mr. 
Tom  Wells.  His  wife  was  also  a  Georgian  and 
a  kinswoman  of  the  Braswell  family. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

The  following  morning  after  bidding  my 
host  good  bye  I  took  the  road  to  Union  Springs. 
On  my  way  I  caught, up  with  General  Pillow, 
who  was  riding  in  a  carriage  drawn  by  two  fine 
mules,  and  his  son  George,  who  was  riding 
horseback.  I  said,  Hello!  On  your  way  home? 
He  answered,  Yes.  What  route  are  you  going! 
We  are  trying  to  make  Union  Springs  for  to- 
night ;  father  is  not  very  well  and  we  are  making 
short  stations.  I  remarked,  I  am  surprised 
they  left  you  your  horse.  He  said,  They  left  us 
our  side  arms  and  let  father  have  his  carriage 
and  mules  and  me  my  horse.  I  rode  up  to  the 
carriage,  shook  hands  with  the  old  General, 
whose  head  was  as  white  as  snow,  congratu- 
lated him  on  his  good  luck  of  being  able  to  keep 
his  outfit.  He  said,  Yes,  it  was  more  than  I  ex- 
pected. We  traveled  together  for  several  miles 
when  we  were  met  by  five  men,  one  of  which,  a 
rather  portly  fellow,  remarked,  Boys,  if  this  is 
not  Sal,  I'll  be  hanged.  And  he  advanced  and 
took  my  mule  by  the  bridle,  saying,  This  mule 
belongs  to  me,  you  will  have  to  get  off.  I  said,  I 
reckon  not,  drawing  my  pistol.  He  said,  The 
Yankees  stole  that  mule  from  me.  I  said,  Well, 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  221 

I  got  her  from  the  Yankees,  but  she  cost  me  a 
watch  worth  about  thirty  dollars.  I  stated  facts 
as  they  were,  saying,  I  am  on  my  way  to  Eu- 
faula  and  I  am  crippled  and  can't  walk,  and  I 
shall  ride  there  if  it  costs  me  my  life.  So  Gen- 
eral Pillow  interfered,  saying,  Gentlemen,  this 
is  a  Confederate  soldier  on  his  way  home ;  he  is 
crippled  and  can't  walk.  I  will  pay  you  for  the 
mule  to  end  the  matter.  What  kind  of  money? 
Confederate,  of  course,  I  have  no  other.  Well,, 
that  is  not  worth  a  curse.  That  is  all  I've  got. 
The  men  were  still  standing  in  front  of  me  and 
occasionally  touched  the  reins,  when  I  cocked 
my  pistol,  saying,  Turn  that  bridle  loose,  I  am 
going  to  Eufaula  on  this  mule.  After  that  I  do 
not  care  what  becomes  of  it ;  I  expect  to  take  the 
boat  there  for  Columbus.  He  answered,  I  tell 
you  what  I  '11  do ;  here  is  a  gold  chain ;  I  suppose 
it  is  worth  as  much  as  your  watch.  I  will  give 
you  that  chain  and  you'll  leave  the  mule  with  the 
hotel  man  and  I'll  get  her  there.  So  I  said  all 
right,  when  General  Pillow  remarked,  Gentle- 
men, undoubtedly  you  are  in  search  of  stock; 
suppose  you  were  to  find  any  that  belongs  to 
somebody  else,  which  it  would  be  pretty  apt  to 
be,  and  the  owner  would  come  and  claim  it; 
would  you  turn  it  over  to  him  ?  The  spokesman 
hesitated,  then  said,  I  don't  know  if  I  would  or 


222  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

not.  I  said,  well,  our  arrangement  suits  me; 
what  is  the  hotel  keeper's  name!  He  told  me 
but  I  have  forgotten  it.  So  we  arrived  at  our 
destination  about  one  hour  by  sun  and  stopped 
all  night  at  the  house  of  Major  Pempertou,  a 
friend  of  General  Pillow's.  George  and  I  oc- 
cupied the  same  bed.  He  proved  to  be  an  ex- 
cellent companion  and  we  recounted  many  in- 
cidents to  one  another.  After  breakfast  we 
parted  company.  I  took  the  route  to  Eufaula, 
Ala.,  by  myself,  leaving  General  Pillow  and  his 
son  with  our  host,  with  whom  they  proposed  to 
stay  for  a  few  days,  before  continuing  their 
homeward  journey,  which  was  near  Franklin, 
Tenn.  I  arrived  at  Eufaula  at  about  three 
o'clock  p.  m.  and  inquired  for  the  hotel,  whose 
proprietor  I  found  sitting  in  a  chair  in  front. 
Is  this  the  hotel?  Yes  sir.  A  soldier  on  his  way 
home  ?  Yes  sir.  This  is  a  good  mule  you  have 
got;  will  you  sell  her?  I  said,  How  much  will 
you  give  me  for  it?  He  remarked,  I  have  only 
Thirty- Five  Dollars,  in  Mexican  silver  and  some 
Confederate  money  that  nobody  takes  about 
here.  I'll  give  you  the  Mexican  dollars  for  the 
outfit.  You  will  also  give  me  my  dinner  and  fill 
my  haversack  with  provisions  to  last  me  home? 
Yes,  I'll  do  that  too.  What  time  will  the  boat 
leave  for  Columbus?  At  four  o'clock.  Well,  I 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  223 

have  time  to  take  dinner.  I  turned  the  mule 
over  to  him,  he  had  me  served  something  to  eat 
and  paid  me  thirty-five  Mexican  silver  dollars. 
I  took  the  chain,  which  was  not  gold  but  galva- 
nized brass,  and  said,  I  am  glad  I  have  made 
connection  with  the  boat,  I  will  get  home  sooner. 
Handing  the  proprietor  the  chain,  I  said,  There 
is  a  gentleman  who  may  call  for  me;  you  tell 
him  I  made  connection  and  went  on.  This  chain 
belongs  to  him  and  I  want  him  to  have  it.  All 
right,  said  he.  The  boat,  according  to  schedule, 
left  for  Columbus  with  me  aboard.  In  Colum- 
bus I  met  Dr.  Mullin,  a  friend  of  Dr.  Crawford's, 
but  could  get  no  information  as  to  his  where- 
abouts. From  Columbus  I  traveled  to  Atlanta. 
The  sight  that  met  my  view  was  sickening.  In- 
stead of  a  nice  little  city,  for  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  Atlanta  at  that  time  was  not  the  cos- 
mopolitan of  this  day,  it  could  not  have  had 
over  seven  or  eight  thousand  inhabitants;  there 
it  lay  in  ashes,  the  work  of  vandalism.  The 
brick  chimneys  marked  the  places  where  com- 
fortable shelters  used  to  stand.  Its  inhabitants 
fled  from  the  approaching  foe,  fearing  even  a 
worse  fate  at  the  hands  of  such  unscrupulous 
barbarians.  From  Atlanta  I  followed  in  the 
wake  of  Sherman's  army  towards  Macon,  and 
had  it  not  been  for  my  trade  with  the  hotel 


224  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETEEAN 

keeper  of  Eufaula  to  have  my  haversack  filled, 
I  could  not  have  existed  to  the  end  of  my  jour- 
ney. As  already  stated,  the  Country  for  miles 
in  every  direction  was  sacked  and  burned.  I 
say  this  much  for  the  New  England  civilization, 
of  these  days,  that  in  no  country,  civilized  or  un- 
civilized, could  such  barbarism  have  excelled 
such  diabolical  manifestation.  I  arrived  in 
Macon  at  dusk,  intending  to  pass  the  night  at 
my  cousin's.  In  front  of  the  Brown  House 
came  an  ambulance,  said  to  contain  President 
Jefferson  Davis.  They  traveled  at  a  good  trot, 
surrounded  by  a  body  of  cavalry  which  I  was  in- 
formed were  Wilson's  men,  Macon  being  in  the 
hands  of  that  General  to  whom  General  Howell 
Cobb  surrendered  that  city.  I  was  sick  at  heart 
at  our  entire  helplessness  and  complete  prostra- 
tion. I  called  on  my  relatives  who  were  glad  to 
see  me  again  among  the  living.  They  were  much 
depressed  at  the  condition  of  things,  hoping  for 
the  best,  but  expecting  the  worst.  I  met  Mr. 
Kaufman,  General  Cobb's  orderly,  as  I  was 
about  to  leave  for  what  I  called  home.  I  stated 
that  if  there  was  a  chance  for  me  to  get  some- 
thing to  ride  it  would  greatly  facilitate  my  loco- 
motion. My  ankle,  although  still  sore  was  heal- 
ing nicely.  Mr.  Kaufman  said,  I  will  sell  you 
my  horse,  I  have  got  nothing  to  feed  him  on.  I 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  225 

said,  I  will  give  you  all  the  money  I  got  for  the 
mule,  having  given  them  already  the  history  of 
my  itinerary  from  Montgomery  to  Macon.  He 
accepted  my  offer  and  I  was  again  in  a  traveling 
condition.  All  along  my  route  devastation  met 
my  view.  I  could  not  find  sufficient  corn  to  give 
my  horse  a  square  meal.  Wherever  I  found  a 
green  spot  I  dismounted  to  let  my  horse  eat 
grass.  I  traveled  at  night  as  well  as  in  the  day 
time  and  arrived  at  my  destination  about  10 
o'clock  a.  m.  the  next  day. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

Conditions  there  were  not  as  bad  as  I 
had  seen  along  the  line  of  march,  although 
they  were  bad  enough.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bras- 
well  received  me  as  if  I  had  been  one  of 
their  own  family.  I  found  the  premises  badly 
dilapidated,  fences  down  everywhere  and  every- 
thing in  disorder,  the  negro  men  gone,  following 
the  yankee  army,  the  negro  women  and  children 
were  still  left  to  be  taken  care  of  by  their  Mas- 
ter and  Mistress.  Before  leaving  the  Yankees 
started  to  set  the  premises  on  fire  but  the  ser- 
vant intervened  and  begged  for  their  good  mas- 
ter and  mistress  and  they  desisted  in  their  in- 
tentions. I  asked  if  old  Sal  lie  could  wash  my 
clothes  I  had  on,  and  if  I  could  borrow  some- 
thing to  put  on  while  mine  was  in  process  of 
cleaning,  for  the  enemy  had  stolen  my  trunk  and 
its  contents  and  I  had  no  change  of  garments. 
Mr.  Braswell  was  of  very  corpulent  stature, 
fully  six  feet  high,  weighing  about  250  pound?, 
while  I,  in  my  emaciated  condition  only  weighed 
135.  One  of  his  garments  would  have  wrapped 
twice  around  me.  At  12  o'clock  dinner  was  an- 
nounced, and  I  was  surprised  at  the  good  and 
substantial  meal  that  was  served.  The  menu 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  227 

consisted  of  fried  ham  and  eggs,  corn  bread,  bis- 
cuits, butter  and  honey.  I  said,  "  folks,  you 
ought  not  to  complain ;  if  you  had  gone  through 
where  I  have  and  seen  what  I  have  seen  you 
would  feel  like  you  live  like  royalty,  for  I  have 
seen  women  and  children  scratch  in  the  ground 
for  a  few  grains  of  corn  for  sustenance  where 
the  enemy's  horses  were  camped  and  fed."  Mr. 
Bra  swell  then  explained  how  he  managed  when 
he  heard  of  the  enemy's  approach.  He  took  his 
cattle,  horses  and  mules  and  everything  he 
could  move,  deep  in  the  Ogeechee  swamp,  leav- 
ing only  a  few  broke  down  around  his  premises 
which  the  enemy,  General  Kilpatricks  cavalry, 
shot  down  and  left  for  the  buzzards.  Mrs.  Bras- 
well  asked  me  what  I  was  going  to  do.  I  said  I 
did  not  know ;  I  was  in  hope  to  meet  Cousin  Abe 
Hermann,  but  you  say  he  was  taken  prisoner. 
Do  you  know  where  they  carried  him  to!  They 
answered,  No,  that  Cousin  Abe  was  drafted  and 
went,  as  a  sutler  in  General  Rube  Carswell's 
regiment  and  was  captured  by  the  enemy  and 
that  they  had  heard  nothing  from  him,  direct. 
Then  Mr.  Braswell  said,  As  long  as  I've  got  a 
mouthful  I  will  divide  with  you.  We  are  poor 
and  I  don't  know  how  to  begin  with  the  new  or- 
der of  things,  all  the  hands  having  left  me. 
After  telling  Mrs.  Braswell  about  her  kindred 


228  MEMOIRS  OP  A  VETERAN 

in  Alabama  and  of  my  ups  and  downs  during 
that  afternoon,  I  spent  a  sleepless  night,  rumi- 
nating in  my  mind  as  to  what  to  do.  The  future 
looked  dark,  the  country  was  ruined.  Wherever 
I  cast  my  eyes,  conditions  looked  the  same.  The 
following  morning  after  breakfast  I  approached 
Mr.  Bras  well,  saying,  My  friend,  I  can't  accept 
your  proposition  to  be  an  extra  burden  to  you  in 
your  already  impoverished  condition.  He  said, 
What  are  you  going  to  do?  I  said,  The  next 
time  you  hear  from  me  I  will  be  in  a  position  to 
make  a  support,  or  I  will  be  a  dead  cock  in  the 
pit.  I  am  going  to  leave  this  morning.  I  left 
for  Sandersville,  where  I  met  many  friends. 
While  there  I  heard  of  some  of  the  boys  having 
picked  up  an  abandoned  Confederate  wagon. 
There  were  about  fifteen  that  claimed  a  share  in 
it.  The  next  day  I  went  to  Milledgeville  and 
stopped  this  side  at  Mr.  Stroters,  who  had  run  a 
distillery  during  the  war.  I  said,  Mr.  Stroter 
have  you  any  whiskey  on  hand?  He  said,  Yes, 
one  barrel,  I  had  it  buried.  Can  I  get  about  five 
gallons  f  He  said,  Yes.  What  will  you  take  for 
it?  Five  dollars  a  gallon,  in  Yankee  money,  the 
Confederate  money  is  no  good  now.  I  said,  I'll 
take  five  gallons  if  you  have  a  keg  to  put  it  in.  I 
have  no  money  of  the  description  you  want, 
but  I  will  leave  you  my  horse  in  bond. 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  229 

Early  in  the  morning  I  proceeded  on  my  way 
to  Macon,  carrying  the  five  gallon  keg  of  whis- 
key on  my  shoulder.  The  journey  was  a  long 
one,  thirty-two  miles,  with  a  burden  and  it 
being  summer  time  was  no  small  undertaking. 
I  arrived  however,  in  East  Macon  the  following 
day.  I  entered  the  woods  in  search  of  a  clay 
root  where  I  could  hide  away  my  burden.  I 
found  a  large  tree  that  was  blown  down,  leaving 
a  big  hole,  where  I  placed  my  keg  and  covered  it 
with  leaves.  I  marked  the  place  so  as  to  find  it 
when  wanted.  I  also  carried  a  canteen  full  of 
liquor  under  my  coat,  and  walked  towards  Ma- 
con. On  the  way  I  met  a  Federal  in  deep  study.  I 
passed  him  a  step  or  two,  then  stopped  and  said, 
Say!  He  turned,  saying,  you  speak  to  me?  I 
said,  Yes,  would  you  like  to  have  a  drink?  He 
said,  Yes,  the  best  in  the  world.  I  tell  you  how 
you  can  get  this  canteen  full.  If  you  bring  me 
out  a  mule  this  side  the  sentinel  I  will  give  you 
this  canteen  full.  He  remarked,  You'll  wait 
yonder  until  I  return.  I  waited  over  an  hour, 
when  I  saw  him  come  on  a  small  mule.  The  ex- 
change was  quickly  effected,  and  I  rode  back  to 
Milledgeville  and  left  the  mule  at  Stroters.  Af- 
ter eating  a  hearty  meal  I  returned  on  foot  to 
Macon,  I  repeated  the  same  tactics,  brought 
back  three  mules  and  sold  over  one  hundred 


230  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

drinks  at  $1.00  a  drink,  paid  Stroter  my  debt 
and  returned  to  Washington  County,  left  ray 
stock  with  my  friend  B.  S.  Jordan  to  tend  his 
crop,  who  at  that  time  had  a  negro  plowing  an 
old  steer.  I  said,  Ben,  Work  your  crop,  for  I 
do  not  know  how  long  you  can  keep  them.  I  re- 
turned to  Sandersville  in  quest  of  the  boys  who 
claimed  the  captured  Confederate  wagon,  and 
to  purchase  it.  They  agreed  if  I  would  bring 
each  a  wool  hat  from  Savannah  on  my  return  I 
could  have  the  wagon,  which  I  agreed  to.  Major 
Irwin  gave  me  an  old  set  of  gears  and  I  was 
ready  to  carry  freight  from  Sandersville  and 
Washington  County  to  Savannah  for  a  living, 
for  let  it  be  known  that  Sherman  in  his  vandal- 
ism tore  up  the  Central  railroad  all  the  way 
from  Macon  to  Savannah,  Ga.,  and  for  eight 
months  after  the  surrender  I  continued  wagon- 
ing hauling  freight  back  and  forth,  taking  the 
weather  as  it  came,  rain  or  shine,  cold  or  warm. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

My  first  journey  as  wagoner  to  Savannah  was  a 
successful  one.  There  was  still  some  cotton 
through  the  country  that  escaped  the  Sherman 
depredators.  Mr.  W.  Gr.  Brown  let  me  have  two 
bales.  Mr.  Pinkus  Happ  let  me  have  one.  My 
tariff  was  $5.00  per  100  pounds,  and  the  same 
returning.  I  took  the  Davisboro  road  from  San- 
dersville,  having  only  two  mules  hitched  to  the 
wagon.  I  had  sent  word  to  Mr.  Jordan  to  meet 
me  with  my  horse  and  mule  still  in  his  posses- 
sion. The  road  was  heavy  for  it  was  a  rainy 
season  and  to  make  it  lighter  pulling  I  con- 
cluded to  have  a  four  mule  team.  So  we  put  the 
harness  on  the  horse  and  mule  and  hitched  them 
in  the  lead.  About  that  time  a  negro  I  knew, 
named  Perry,  came  up  and  made  himself  useful. 
I  said,  Perry,  what  are  you  doing?  Nothing, 
Marse  Ike.  How  would  you  like  to  wagon  for  me 
at  $15.00  a  month  and  rations?  Very  well,  said 
he.  Well,  jump  in  the  saddle,  I  am  on  my  way 
to  Savannah.  It  was  about  four  o'clock  p.  m. 
Perry  took  hold  of  the  line  and  cracked  his  whip, 
when  the  horse,  whose  other  qualities,  except  a 
saddle  horse  I  did  not  know,  commenced  to  kick 
in  a  spirited  manner,  so  as  to  skin  his  legs  with 


232  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

the  trace  chains  in  which  he  became  entangled,  I 
had  to  unhitch  him.  Mr.  John  Salter  was  pres- 
ent and  saw  the  whole  proceeding.  I  remarked, 
Well.  I  am  sorry  for  that  for  I  had  expected  to 
have  a  four  horse  team,  and  now  can  have  only 
a  spike  team.  Salter  said,  Hermann,  what  will 
you  take  for  this  horse?  You  say  he  is  a  good 
saddle  horse?  I  never  straddled  a  better  one. 
What  will  you  give  me?  He  said  he  had  no 
money  but  had  two  bales  of  cotton  under  his  gin 
house  and  I  could  have  it  for  the  horse.  How 
far  do  you  live  from  here?  Two  miles  only. 
All  right,  the  horse  is  yours.  Perry,  let  us  go  and 
get  the  cotton.  Mr.  Salter  led  the  way  where 
the  cotton  was.  We  loaded  the  same  and  drove 
that  night  to  the  Fleming  place  and  camped. 
The  trip  was  uneventful.  We  made  the  journey 
to  Savannah  in  four  days.  There  was  a  firm  of 
cotton  factors  named  Bothwell  and  Whitehead 
doing  business  in  the  City,  and  they  were  my  ob- 
jective point.  However,  before  arriving  into 
the  city,  about  thirty  miles  this  side,  I  met  men 
wanting  to  buy  my  cotton.  They  offered  me 
from  fifteen  to  fifty  cents  per  pound.  I  did  not 
know  what  the  value  was ;  I  knew  that  before  the 
war  started  it  brought  about  eight  cents.  How- 
ever, I  drove  up  to  the  firms  office  on  Bay  street. 
I  saw  Mr.  Bothwell ;  after  the  usual  greeting  I 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  233 

said,  What  is  cotton  selling  at?  It  brought 
*62y2  this  a.  m.,  but  I  think  I  can  get  more  than 
that  if  it  is  good  cotton.  To  make  matters  short 
I  got  .65  per  pound  and  the  two  bales  Salter  let 
me  have  for  my  horse  weighed  600  pounds  a 
bale,  netting  me  $720.00.  I  bought  me  another 
mule  and  now  I  was  again  fully  equipped  and 
made  the  voyage  regularly  every  week.  I  took  a 
partner,  as  the  business  was  more  than  I  could 
attend  to  by  myself;  his  name  was  Solomon 
Witz.  He  would  engage  freight  during  my  ab- 
sence, and  we  sometimes  made  the  trip  together. 
The  country  was  forever  in  a  state  of  excite- 
ment. New  edicts  appeared  from  time  to  time 
from  Washington,  D.  C.,  Congress  promulgated 
laws  to  suit  their  motives,  and  notwithstanding 
the  agreement  between  General  Lee  and  General 
Grant  at  Appomattox  that  the  men  should  re- 
turn, build  up  their  waste  places  and  not  again 
to  take  up  arms  until  properly  exchanged  and 
they  should  not  be  molested  as  long  as  they 
should  attend  to  their  daily  avocations,  Con- 
gress established  what  was  then  known  as  the 
Freedmen's  Bureau,  seemingly  for  the  protec- 
tion 'of  the  negroes,  as  if  they  needed  any,  as 
their  devotion  to  their  master  and  their  behavior 
at  home  while  every  white  man  able  to  bear 
arms  was  at  the  front  fighting  for  their  homes 


234  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

and  firesides,  leaving  their  families  in  the  hands 
of  their  slaves  whose  devotion  was  exemplary, 
was  not  that  a  sufficient  guarantee  of  the  rela- 
tionship between  slaves  and  masters?  The  at- 
tachment was  of  the  tenderest  kind  and  a  white 
man  would  have  freely  offered  his  life  for  the 
protection  of  his  servants ;  but  that  condition  did 
not  suit  our  adversaries.  Although  we  thought 
the  war  was  over,  it  was  not  over  and  more  ter- 
rible things  awaited  the  Southern  people.  Em- 
issaries of  every  description,  like  vultures,  sui- 
named  carpetbaggers,  for  all  they  possessed 
could  be  enclosed  into  a  hand  bag,  overran  this 
country  to  fatten  on  the  remnants  left.  School 
mams  of  the  far  East,  of  very  questionable  rep- 
utation, opened  what  were  called  schools,  pre- 
sumably to  teach  the  negroes  how  to  read  and 
write,  but  rather  to  inculcate  into  their  minds 
all  sorts  of  deviltry,  embittering  their  feelings 
against  their  former  owners  and  life  long 
friends,  urging  them  to  migrate  for  unless  they 
did  they  would  still  be  considered  as  bondsmen 
and  bondswomen,  thus  breaking  up  the  kind  re- 
lation existing  between  the  white  man  and  the 
negro.  And  all  this  under  the  protection  of  the 
Preedmen's  Bureau  backed  up  by  a  garrison  of 
Federals  stationed  in  every  town  and  city 
throughout  the  Southern  States.  In  fact  the 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  235 

South  was  made  to  feel  the  heels  of  the  despots. 
Military  Governors  were  appointed.  All  those 
who  bore  arms  or  aided  or  abetted  in  the  cause 
of  the  South  were  disfranchised,  the  negro  was 
enfranchised  and  allowed  the  ballot,  with  a  mili- 
tary despot  at  the  helm  and  negroes  and  carpet 
baggers,  and  a  few  renegades  such  as  can  be 
found  in  any  country,  as  legislators.  The  ship 
of  state  soon  run  into  shallow  waters  and  was 
pounded  to  pieces  on  the  reeves  of  bankruptcy. 
Taxes  were  such  that  property  owners  could  not 
meet  them  and  they  had  the  misfortune  to  see 
their  lifelong  earnings  sacrificed  under  so  called 
legal  process,  of  the  hammer,  for  a  mere 
song.  These  were  the  actual  conditions  in  the 
days  of  the  so  called  reconstruction.  Bottom 
rail  on  top,  was  the  slogan  of  those  savage 
hordes.  Forty  acres  and  a  mule,  and  to  every 
freedman,  Government  rations,  was  the  prelude 
of  legislation.  Men  who  took  up  arms  in  defense 
of  their  sacred  rights  could  not  be  expected  to 
endure  such  a  state  of  affairs  forever,  the 
'women  and  children  must  be  protected.  The 
garrisons  were  gradually  withdrawn;  the  car- 
pet baggers  remained  and  ruled;  negroes 
formed  themselves  into  clubs  and  organizations 
under  their  leadership,  when  as  an  avalanche  all 
-over  the  Southern  states  appeared  the  K.  K. 


236  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

K.  *s,  called  the  Ku  Klux  Klan,  or  the  Boys  Who 
Had  Died  at  Manassas,  who  have  come  back  to 
regulate  matters.  Terror  struck  into  the  ranks 
of  the  guilty  and  of  the  would  be  organizers  and 
the  country  soon  resumed  its  normal  state, 
Governors  fled  and  Legislators  took  to  the  bush. 
But  I  am  deviating  from  my  subject. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

On  the  following  trip  to  Savannah  I  met  G. 
"W.  Kelley  and  Dr.  G.  L.  Mason,  on  the  same 
errand,  viz.  hauling  cotton  to  market.  After 
having  disposed  of  the  same  we  reloaded  our 
teams  in  merchandise,  which  was  easily  dis- 
posed of,  as  the  country  was  in  need  of  every- 
thing that  could  add  to  the  comfort  or  even  ne- 
cessities of  the  people.  The  country  being  in 
the  condition  it  was,  we  were  glad  to  travel  to- 
gether for  company's  sake.  So  in  the  evening 
we  left  and  camped  about  twelve  miles  out  of 
the  city.  As  a  rule  one  of  the  party  ought  to 
have  been  on  guard,  but  such  was  not  the  case 
that  night.  About  midnight  I  awoke  and  found 
two  of  my  mules  gone.  I  noted  also  that  the 
line  with  which  they  were  attached  had  been  cut 
with  a  sharp  knife.  Following  the  tracks  they 
led  back  into  the  city.  So  I  left  my  partner  at 
Savannah  on  the  lookout  while  I  went  my  way 
back  to  Sandersville,  minus  two  mules.  I  man- 
aged to  buy  two  more  mules  to  fill  out  my  team. 
I  had  to  take  what  was  offered  to  me,  at  any 
price,  my  partner,  after  remaining  several  days 
at  Savannah,  recognized  one  of  the  mules  in 
charge  of  a  negro.  He  called  for  the  police  and 


238  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

had  the  negro  arrested.  There  being  no  legal 
judge,  the  case  was  carried  before  a  captain  of 
one  of  the  military  companies  stationed  there. 
The  negro  proved  by  a  confederate  that  this 
mule  was  in  his  possession  long  before  my  part- 
ner claimed  it  was  stolen,  thus  setting  up  an 
alibi,  without  proving  as  to  where  he  got  her 
from.  My  partner  failed  to  get  the  mule  and 
had  to  pay  about  $8.00  costs  for  his  trouble, 
which  was  all  the  cash  he  had  with  him.  Later 
the  firm  received  a  bill  for  $5.00  more  cost  but  I 
paid  no  attention  to  it  and  never  heard  of  it  any 
more. 

Under  the  advice  of  their  instructors,  the 
blacks  were  going  and  coming.  The  road  to 
Savannah  was  traveled  by  them  at  night  as  well 
as  by  day.  Most  of  them  were  making  for  the 
cities.  Savannah  was  the  goal  for  those  in  this 
section.  One  evening  on  my  way  I  stopped  my 
team  within  eighteen  miles  this  side  of  the  City. 
Mr.  Guerry,  who  was  a  fairly  well  to  do  farmer 
for  those  days  and  conditions,  near  to  whose 
domicile  I  camped,  buying  some  corn  and  fod- 
der from  him  to  feed  my  team,  also  such  provis- 
ions for  myself  as  he  had  for  sale.  At  break 
of  day  we  had  left  on  our  weary  journey ;  on  my 
return  a  day  or  so  afterwards  I  passed  his 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  239 

premises  and  to  keep  from  walking  I  had  bought 
me  an  extra  mule.  As  I  rode  up  I  noticed  Mr. 
Guerry  and  three  of  his  sons  in  a  pen,  ready  to 
kill  hogs.  It  was  on  a  Friday,  in  the  month  of 
December,  1865.  It  was  a  clear,  beautiful,  cold 
day.  I  greeted  them,  Good  morning,  gentlemen, 
this  is  a  beautiful  day  to  kill  hogs.  Without 
noticing  my  greeting,  one  of  them  said,  "This  is 
the  fellow,"  when  the  old  fellow  picked  up  his 
gun  from  the  fence  corner  and  raising  the  same 

exclaimed,  "You  are  the  d d  fellow  that  took 

off  our  cook."  I  was  completely  taken  by  sur- 
prise, and  the  first  word  I  spoke  I  said,  "You 
lie",  and  I  jumped  off  my  mule  and  drew  my 
pistol.  My  neighbors  say  they  saw  her  follow 
your  wagon  the  day  after  you  camped  here  the 
night  before.  I  said,  In  fact  we  caught  up  with 
a  negro  woman  about  two  miles  from  here  car- 
rying a  large  bundle  on  her  head,  and  she  asked 
my  driver  if  she  could  put  her  incumbrance  on 
the  wagon.  I  said,  No,  my  mules  have  all  they 
can  pull,  and  are  jaded  already.  In  fact  that 
was  all  the  words  that  passed  between  her  and 
me  and  up  to  about  10  o'clock  a.  m.  she  was 
either  walking  in  front  or  behind  the  team,  car- 
rying her  luggage.  I  did  not  know  where  she 
came  from  nor  where  she  was  going.  I  sup- 
posed she  was  on  her  way  to  Savannah,  like  the 


240  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

rest  of  them.  I  guess  you  see  them  pass  here 
daily.  He  said,  some  of  my  neighbors  told  me 
they  saw  her  behind  your  wagon.  Just  at  that 
moment  Messrs.  L.  D.  Newsome  and  Seaborn 
Newsome  and  Alex  Brown  drove  up,  hauling 
cotton  to  Savannah.  I  was  glad  to  see  them. 
Hello  boys,  you  of  Washington  County  come  in 
good  time.  Here  are  some  fellows  accusing  me 
of  stealing  their  negro  cook.  They  said  at  once, 
Oh,  no !  You  got  hold  of  the  wrong  fellow.  We 
know  him,  he  comes  from  our  county  and  would 
not  do  such  a  thing.  He  is  a  Confederate  soldier 
and  fought  all  through  the  war.  Then  I  saia, 
Mr.  Guerry,  let  us  reason  together.  You  have 
always  treated  me  clever  when  I  passed  here. 
I  have  never  entered  your  yard.  I  always  paid 
you  for  what  you  sold  to  me.  The  negroes  are 
free  and  they  are  thought  to  migrate.  I  had  no 
rights  to  stop  the  woman  on  her  journey,  but 
had  I  known  that  she  was  your  servant  I  would 
have  talked  to  her  and  advised  her  to  go  back 
where  she  belongs.  Mr.  Guerry  seemed  to  re- 
gret his  hasty  words  and  begged  my  pardon, 
and  insisted  on  all  of  us,  to  go  into  the  house  for 
refreshments.  We  finally  shook  hands  and 
parted  good  friends. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

A  rainy  season  soon  set  in;  the  streams  were 
overflowing,  and  the  road  became  bad  and  hard, 
to  travel.  On  arriving  at  the  Ogeechee  river  at 
Summertown  I  found  that  it  had  deborted  its 
banks  and  was  at  least  a  quarter  of  a  mile  wide. 
I  struck  camp,  waiting  for  the  water  to  recede. 
The  following  day  Geo.  W.  Kelley  drove  in 
sight.  He  also  had  a  load  of  five  bales  of  cotton 
and  he  struck  camp.  But  it  continued  to  rain 
and  the  river  instead  of  receding  became  wider 
and  deeper.  The  cotton  market  was  declining 
rapidly  and  we  were  anxious  to  reach  the  mar- 
ket. I  suggested  to  Mr.  Kelley  that  I  would 
take  the  tallest  of  the  mules  and  sound  the  width 
of  the  current.  The  mule  walked  in  the  water 
up  to  the  banks,  neck  deep,  when  he  began  to 
swim,  I  guided  him  when  again  he  struck  foot- 
hold. I  rode  to  the  end  of  the  water,  in  parts 
only  breast  deep.  I  retraced  my  steps  and  re- 
ported my  investigation.  We  held  counsel  to- 
gether and  concluded  that  by  using  prolongs  we 
could  hitch  the  eight  mules  to  one  wagon  and 
while  the  rear  mules  would  be  in  mid  stream  the 
front  ones  would  be  on  terra  firma  and  pull  the 
team  across.  We  sent  to  Mr.  Coleman  who  lived 


242  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

close  by,  for  ropes.  We  cut  saplings,  laid  them 
on  top  of  each  wagon  fastened  the  ends  tight 
to  the  wagon  body  so  as  to  prevent  the 
current  from  washing  off  any  of  the  cotton 
while  the  wagon  would  be  submerged  in  mid- 
stream during  the  crossing.  Our  plan  proved 
to  be  a  successful  one,  and  thus  we  forded  the 
Ogeechee  river  without  the  least  accident.  We 
repeated  the  same  tactics  for  the  remaining 
wagon.  We  reached  Savannah  in  due  time,  sold 
the  cotton  and  bought  merchandise  for  other 
parties,  and  I  received  pay  going  and  coming. 
On  returning  I  concluded  to  cross  the  river  by 
the  upper  route,  at  Jenkins  Perry,  to  avoid  re- 
crossing  the  river  as  per  previous  method.  We 
struck  camp  at  dark  close  to  the  river  bank.  I 
told  Perry  to  feed  and  water  the  team  while  I 
would  examine  the  ferry  flat.  Presently  Mr. 
Stetson  from  Milledgeville,  drove  up  and  also 
struck  camp.  I  considered  the  flat  a  very  shabby 
and  a  dangerous  affair  to  cross  on  with  a  heavy 
load  and  so  reported,  but  Mr.  Stetson  thought  it 
all  right.  The  following  morning  at  break  of 
day  the  ferryman  was  on  hand  as  per  arrange- 
ments that  evening.  Stetson  and  his  men  hur- 
ried up  so  as  to  get  across  first  and  thus  gain 
time.  My  man  Perry  also  hurried  faster  than 
was  his  wont  to  do,  for  he  was  usually  slow  in 


WAE  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  243 

his  movements,  when  I  cautioned  him  to  take 
his  time  and  go  slow  and  let  the  other  wagon 
cross  first.  It  was  well  that  I  did  so,  for  the 
flat  went  down  nearly  midstream,  and  if  the 
front  mules  had  not  had  foot  hold  in  time  the 
whole  business  would  have  drowned.  Stetson's 
damage  in  merchandise  was  considerable.  He 
was  loaded  with  salt,  cutlery  and  general  mer- 
chandise. When  I  saw  that  no  personal  damage 
was  done  I  bid  them  good  bye  to  take  another 
route  by  a  twenty  mile  detour,  via.  Louisville^ 
and  crossed  the  river  at  Fenn's  Bridge. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

The  Central  road  was  being  rebuilt  from  Sa- 
vannah and  we  met  the  trains  at  its  terminals, 
thus  shortening  the  distance  of  our  journeys. 
The  train  had  reached  Guyton,  thirty  miles  this 
side  of  Savannah  and  was  advancing  daily  until 
completed  to  Macon.  It  was  early  in  the  spring 
when  I  met  the  train  at  station  No.  6,  a  flat  coun- 
try. It  had  rained  nearly  daily  for  a  week ;  the 
roads  were  slushy,  I  had  on  a  heavy  load;  we 
had  traveled  the  whole  day  long  until  dark.  It 
was  hard  to  find  a  dry  knob  to  camp  on,  until  fi- 
nally we  came  to  a  little  elevation.  I  said  Perry 
we  are  going  to  stop  here.  He  guided  the  team 
into  the  woods  a  few  paces  and  unhitched,  while 
I  was  looking  for  a  few  lightwood  knots  to  build 
up  a  fire.  Everything  was  wet  and  it  was  hard 
to  kindle  up  a  blaze.  When  suddenly  there  ar- 
rived on  the  scene  an  ambulance  pulled  by  a 
team  of  four  splendid  mules  and  thirteen  Fed- 
eral soldiers  alighted.  They  took  the  grounds 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  road.  I  thought  to 
myself,  Now  I  am  into  it.  Perry  was  on  his 
knees,  fanning  up  the  damp  pine  straw,  when 
one  of  those  fellows  called,  Heigho,  you  black 
fellow,  come  here.  I  said  to  Perry  in  an  under- 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATE&  245 

tone,  Attend  to  your  business.  When  the  same 
fellow  called  again,  Hello  you  negro,  I  told  you 
,  to  come  here,  did  you  hear  me?'  accompanying 
his  remarks  with  the  coarsest  words.  Perry  an- 
swered, My  boss  told  me  to  tend  to  my  business. 

D n  you  and  your  boss,  too,  was  his  reply. 

As  he  had  completed  the  sentence,  I  being  close 
by  the  side  of  my  wagon,  reached  up  and  took 
my  Spencer  in  hand,  bringing  it  from  a  trail  to 
a  support.  I  stepped  to  the  center  of  the  road, 

saying,  D n  you  some  too.    This  is  not  the 

first  time  I  have  met  some  of  you  at  odds,  and  I 
am  ready  for  the  fray,  if  it  has  to  be.  Every- 
thing was  quiet,  not  a  word  was  uttered.  I  still 
remained  standing  in  the  road,  watching  any 
move  they  might  make,  when  one  of  them  spoke, 
saying,  Will  you  let  me  come  to  you?  He  spoke 
in  a  very  conciliatory  tone.  I  said,  Yes,  one 
at  a  time.  He  came  to  me  unarmed,  and  said, 
Let  us  have  no  trouble;  don't  pay  any  attention 
to  that  fellow,  he  is  drinking.  There  is  plenty 
of  room  here  for  all  of  us,  without  any  friction. 
I  said,  Well,  if  your  friend  is  drunk,  take  care 
of  him.  I  am  able  to  take  care  of  myself.  He 
returned  to  his  camp  and  I  to  mine.  I  heard 
him  say  to  his  comrades,  That  fellow  won't  do 
to  fool  with.  By  that  time  Perry  had  succeeded 
in  having  a  rousing  fire  and  we  went  to  work  on 


246  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

the  culinary  department.  Our  meals  were  sim- 
ple, a  little  fried  meat  and  corn  bread  and  water 
from  out  of  a  ditch.  Presently  one  of  the  Fed- 
erals hollered  over,  "Say,  Johnnie,  don't  you 
want  some  coffee?"  I  answered,  "No,  it  has 
been  so  long  since  I  tasted  any  I  have  forgotten 
how  it  tastes. ' '  He  said,  We  have  a  plenty  and 
you  are  welcome  to  it  if  you  will  have  it.  I  said 
I  have  no  way  to  make  coffee  if  I  had  any.  So 
one  of  them  came  over  with  some  parched  coffee 
and  offered  it  to  me.  I  declined  it,  for  I  had  no 
mill  to  grind  it,  nor  any  vessel  to  stew  it  in. 
They  insisted,  bringing  over  all  of  the  parapher- 
nelia  for  the  brewing  of  coffee  and  I  must  admit 
that  it  was  enjoyed  by  Perry,  as  well  as  myself, 
it  being  the  first  that  had  pssed  my  lips  in  four 

i  years.  After  our  meal  was  completed  they  came 
over,  one  after  another  and  sat  around  the  fire. 

,The  conversation  became  general  and  I  found 
them  to  be  very  congenial  company.  One  brought 
me  a  whole  haversack  full  of  green  coffee,  say- 
ing, Have  it,  we  have  a  sack  of  over  a  hundred 
pounds.  I  thanked  them  saying,  This  is  quite  a 
treat.  And  what  seemed  to  be  a  disagreeable 
affair  in  its  incipiency  terminated  most  agree- 
ably. It  having  become  late  I  suggested  that  we 
take  a  night  cap  and  retire.  I  passed  around 
the  jug  and  each  returned  to  his  respective 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  247 

quarters.  However  I  slept,  as  the  saying  is, 
with  one  eye  open.  Early  in  the  morning  we 
fed  the  mules,  rekindled  the  fire,  drank  a  warm 
cup  of  coffee  and  ate  a  bite  or  so.  We  harnessed 
two  of  our  mules,  two  of  which  in  the  lead  were 
of  small  size,  when  one  of  the  Federals  proposed 
to  swap  mules.  I  said,  Your  mules  are  worth 
a  great  deal  more  than  mine,  and  I  have  no 
money  to  pay  boot.  We  don't  want  any  money 
said  another,  we  want  you  to  have  the  best  team 
on  the  road,  by  swapping  your  two  lead  mules 
for  those  tall  black  ones  of  ours  you  will  have 
a  real  fine  team.  They  then  said  they  were  on 
their  way  to  Augusta  to  report  to  the  quarter- 
master there,  that  they  had  receipted  for  four 
mules  and  a  sack  of  coffee  to  be  delivered  to  the 
quartermaster  in  Augusta.  The  mules  in  their 
possession  were  not  branded  as  government 
mules  but  were  picked  up  and  a  mule  is  a  mule, 
so  we  deliver  the  number  of  heads  is  all  that  is 
required.  To  tell  the  truth  I  feared  a  trap,  but 
while  I  was  talking  with  one  of  them  the  others 
changed  the  lead  mules  for  two  of  theirs  and  off 
they  drove  in  a  lope,  singing,  Old  John  Brown 
Lies  Buried  in  the  Ground,  etc.  We  trudged 
along,  Perry  and  I  elated  over  our  good  luck, 
when  Perry  said,  Well  Marse  Ike,  your  stand- 
ing up  to  them  made  them  your  friends. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

I  had  rented  the  store  house  from  Mr.  Billy 
Smith  where  he  and  Slade  had  done  business  be- 
fore the  war,  in  Sandersville,  and  opened  up 
business  in  heavy  and  family  groceries.  In  the- 
meantime  my  team  was  making  the  trip  be- 
tween Sandersville  and  the  Central  terminal, 
which  had  not  considerably  advanced,  owing  to 
the  demoralized  condition  of  labor.  So  I  con- 
cluded at  this  particular  time  it  would  accelerate 
matters  by  hauling  a  load  of  merchandise  with 
my  team ;  hence  I  drove  through  all  the  way  to 
Savannah.  While  there,  on  passing  Congress 
street,  I  met  an  old  friend  named  Abe  Einstein, 
of  the  firm  of  Einstein  and  Erkman,  wholesale 
drygoods  merchants.  He  was  speaking  to  one- 
Mr.  Cohen  from  New  York,  who  had  just  ar- 
rived by  steamer  with  a  cargo  of  drygoods.  He 
wanted  to  locate  in  Augusta,  but  owing  to  the 
Federals  having  torn  up  that  branch  of  the  rail- 
road at  Millen  the  Augusta  trains  run  no  fur- 
ther than  Waynesboro.  Hence  he  was  trying  to 
fill  in  the  gap  with  teams.  Mr.  Einstein  told 
him  that  I  had  a  splendid  team  and  that  I  would 
be  a  good  man  for  him  to  employ.  So  he  asked 
me  if  I  would  haul  a  load  for  him.  I  replied  I 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  249 

would  if  he  would  pay  me  enough  for  it.  He 
said,  How  much  can  you  pull  at  a  load?  I  said, 
My  mules  can  pull  all  that  the  wagon  can  hold 
up.  What  do  you  ask?  Pour  hundred  dollars. 
Whiz,  I  did  not  want  to  buy  your  team,  I  only 
wanted  to  hire  it.  I  said  to  him,  Well,  that  is  my 
price.  I  said,  You  fellows  up  North  tore  up  the  * 
road,  you  ought  to  be  able  to  pay  for  such  accom- 
modations as  you  can  get.  He  studied  over  the 
situation  a  little.  Turning  to  Mr.  Einstein,  Do 
you  know  this  man ;  can  I  rely  on  him?  Mr.  Ein- 
stein replied,  Perfectly  reliable,  I  stand  spon- 
sor. He  said,  I  tell  you  what  I'll  do,  I'll  pay 
you  down  $200.00  and  Mr.  Einstein  will  pay  you 
$200.00  when  you  return.  Mr.  Einstein  agreed 
to  it,  so  I  said,  That  is  satisfactory,  I  shall  de- 
liver so  many  boxes  as  you  put  on  to  the  agent, 
take  his  receipt  for  the  same  and  Mr.  Einstein 
will  pay  me  $200.00  due.  I  had,  to  my  regret, 
had  to  discharge  my  teamster  Perry,  owing  to 
the  neglect  of  duty,  and  engaged  another  named 
Bill  Flagg.  He  was  an  old  conscientious  negro, 
very  religiously  inclined.  We  loaded  our  team 
and  followed  instructions.  On  arrival  at 
Waynesboro,  I  never  had  been  there  before,  so  I 
inquired  for  the  depot  and  found  an  improvised 
little  house  beside  the  railroad  track  and  a  man 
claiming  to  be  the  railroad  agent.  I  have  a  load 


250  MEMOIRS  OP  A  VETERAN 

of  goods  here  for  Augusta.  Put  them  in  the  car 
said  he.  I  said,  count  the  boxes  and  make  me 
out  a  receipt.  He  said  all  right.  After  my  bus- 
iness with  the  agent  was  concluded,  I  asked  him 
to  show  me  the  Louisville  route,  which  he 
pointed  out  to  me,  with  several  explanations  as 
to  the  right  and  left  intervening  roads.  Waynes- 
boro  was  at  that  time,  as  it  is  now,  the  county 
site  of  Burke  county,  a  town  of  about  1000  in- 
habitants. It  has  greatly  improved  since  and  is 
quite  a  prosperous  city  of  some  importance  now. 

Before  we  got  out  of  the  incorporation  a  de- 
tachment of  Federal  troops  surrounded  my 
team  and  ordered  my  driver  to  dismount.  I  was 
a  few  paces  behind  my  wagon  and  I  hurried  to 
the  front.  One  of  the  soldiers  had  hold  of  my 
mules'  bridle  and  ordered  my  driver  to  dis- 
mount. I  said  to  my  man,  If  you  dismount  I  will 
kill  you ;  you  sit  where  you  are,  you  are  under 
my  orders.  I  ordered  the  trooper  to  let  go  my 
mule.  He  turned  loose  the  bridle,  but  held  his 
position  with  others  in  front  of  the  team.  The 
commotion  brought  together  the  balance  of  the 
garrison  and  some  citizens.  I  remarked  right 
here,  I'll  sell  out;  you  shall  not  deprive  me  of 
the  means  to  make  an  honest  living.  So  the 
Captain  remarked,  We  are  ordered  to  take  up 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  251 

all  Confederate  property.  I  said,  I  have  no  ob- 
jection for  you  to  take  up  Confederate  property, 
but  this  is  my  individual  property  and  your  ac- 
tion is  highway  robbery,  which  I  do  not  propose 
to  submit  to.  There  is  a  way  to  prove  those 
things ;  I  am  a  citizen  of  Sandersville  and  have 
been  wagoning  for  a  living.  There  is  a  garrison 
of  troops  in  my  town  and  if  this  is  Confederate 
property  they  have  had  a  chance  to  confiscate  it 
long  ago.  He  said,  What  is  your  name1?  I  an- 
swered, I.  Hermann,  Sandersville,  Washington 
County,  is  my  home.  He  pretended  to  make  a 
note  of  it  and  told  me  to  drive  on.  I  was  glad  to 
have  gotten  out  of  that  scrape.  On  reaching 
home  Flagg  came  to  me,  saying,  Boss,  I  have  to 
quit  you.  What  is  the  matter,  Bill?  said  I,  have 
I  not  always  treated  you  right.  Oh  yes,  but  I  am 
afraid  of  you.  How  so  Bill  ?  I  am  afraid  some 
day  you  might  get  mad  with  me  and  kill  me: 
Any  man  that  can  stand  before  a  whole  company 
of  Yankees  like  you  and  keep  them  from  taking 
his  team,  is  a  dangerous  man.  You  must  get 
you  another  man.  I  sai'd,  all  right,  Bill.  When 
Perry  heard  that  Bill  Flagg  had  left  my  em- 
ployment he  came  to  me,  asking  to  be  re-instated 
and  promising  to  be  more  attentive  to  his  duties. 
So  I  took  him  back  and  he  remained  with  me 
for  several  years. 


CHAPTER  XXXVHL 

The  railroad  track  had  advanced  consider- 
ably, and  in  the  Fall  of  the  year,  1866,  had 
reached  Bartow,  No.  11.  My  partner  for  some 
time  had  taken  charge  of  the  team  while  I  at- 
tended to  the  store.  Once  he  came  home  badly 
bunged  up  and  a  knife  cut  on  his  cheek.  I  saidr 
What  has  happened?  He  said  he  had  some  diffi- 
culty with  the  Agent  and  they  double  teamed  on 
him.  So  I  remarked,  Well,  you  can  send  Perry 
without  you  going.  I  wrote  to  the  agent  asking 
him  to  deliver  to  the  bearer,  Perry,  a  load  of 
my  merchandise  then  in  his  possession,  to  check 
off  the  same  and  send  me  a  list.  We  had  at  that 
time  two  car  loads  on  the  track  for  the  firm. 
When  Perry  returned  he  failed  to  bring  the  list, 
his  wagon  being  loaded  with  corn  and  every 
sack  ripped  more  or  less.  I  said,  How  come 
you  to  accept  merchandise  in  that  condition.  He 
answered,  the  sacks  were  allright  when  I  took 
them  out  of  the  car,  it  was  after  they  were 
loaded  one  of  them  fellows,  a  white  man  named 
Smith,  run  around  the  wagon  and  cut  the  sacks 
and  I  spilled  lots  of  corn.  I  picked  up  some  of 
it  and  put  in  that  sack,  indicating  a  sack  %  fulL 
I  said,  Do  you  know  the  man ;  would  you  recog- 


WAB  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  253 

nize  him  again  if  you  were  to  meet  him?  Oh 
yes,  Marse  Ike.  Saturday  morning  I  took  charge 
of  the  team  and  my  partner  remained  at  the 
store.  I  took  dinner  and  fed  my  mules  at  my 
friends'  Mr.  B.  G.  Smith,  to  whom  I  stated  the 
facts  as  told  to  me.  He  said,  be  careful,  don't 
be  too  hasty.  I  said,  Bight  is  right  and  I  dont 
want  anything  but  my  rights,  and  those  I  am 
going  to  have  before  I  return. 

We  arrived  at  our  destination  about  four 
o'clock  p.  m.  The  Sherman  contingency  had 
burned  the  warehouse  as  they  did  all  the  others 
along  their  march.  Consequently  the  railroad 
Company  used  passenger  cars  on  the  side  track 
to  transact  their  office  work,  while  freight  cars 
served  as  a  warehouse  until  discharged  of  their 
contents.  As  I  entered  the  office  car  a  young 
man  met  me.  I  remarked,  Are  you  the  agent! 
He  said,  No,  Mr.  Mims  is  at  Parson  Johnson's 
house.  What  is  your  name?  My  name  is 
Smith.  Then  you  are  the  scoundrel  that  muti- 
lated my  goods,  and  I  advanced.  He  run  out  of 
the  door  and  slammed  it  to  with  such  force  that 
he  shattered  the  glass  panel  into  fragments. 
When  I  came  out  to  where  Perry  was,  he  said, 
That's  the  fellow  that  cut  the  sacks,  there  he 
goes.  Well  Perry  \uild  a  little  fire  by  the  side 


254  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

of  this  car  for  here  we  will  camp  until  some  one 
returns  to  deliver  us  the  freight.  The  sun  had 
set  below  the  horizon  and  it  had  begun  to  get 
night,  when  Mr.  Tom  Wells,  an  acquaintance  of 
mine,  approached  me.  He  was  an  employee  of 
the  railroad  company  also.  Well  Ike,  old  fel- 
low, how  are  you  getting  along?  All  right  Tom, 
how  are  you?  I  am  all  right.  What  brought 
you  here,  said  he?  I  said  business,  I  have  goods 
here  if  I  can  find  an  agent  to  deliver  them.  I 
heard  you  came  here  for  a  difficulty,  said  he.  I 
remarked,  It  seems  I  am  already  in  a  difficulty,  I 
can't  get  any  one  to  deliver  me  my  goods.  Well, 
I  will  tell  you,  Mr.  Mims  is  a  perfect  gentleman. 
I  am  glad  to  hear  it.  Do  you  know  him?  No, 
I  have  never  seen  him,  but  up  to  now  I  can't  have 
the  same  opinion  of  him  that  you  have.  I  have 
not  been  treated  right  and  I  came  here  for  jus- 
tice. He  said,  Well,  let  me  tell  you ;  there  are 
about  forty  employees  here,  hands  and  all,  and 
they  will  all  stick  to  him,  wright  or  wrong.  I 
said,  I  came  here  to  see  Mr.  Mims  and  I  intend 
to  stay  here  until  I  do  see  him,  if  it  takes  me  a 
week.  Well  Ike,  if  you  promise  me  that  you  will 
not  raise  a  difficulty  I  will  go  after  him  and  in- 
troduce you  to  each  other.  I  said,  Tom,  there 
are  other  ways  to  settle  a  difficulty  without  fight- 
ing if  men  want  to  do  right.  Well  I  will  go  for 


WAB  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  255 

him;  I  know  Mr.  Mims  is  going  to  do  what  is 
right,  and  you  too.  Mr.  Mims  came  presently, 
and  a  whole  gang  following  him.  I  said,  Mr. 
Mims,  it  seems  you  and  my  partner  had  a  diffi- 
culty. I  do  not  know  the  cause  and  I  do  not 
care  to  know.  He  said  you  fellows  double 
teamed  on  him  and  he  got  worsted  in  the  fight. 
To  avoid  a  recurrence  of  the  difficulty  I  sent  my 
driver  to  you  and  a  note.  You  ignored  my  note 
and  sent  me  a  load  of  corn  with  all  the  sacks 
ripped  open,  more  or  less,  with  a  knife  in  the 
hands  of  one  of  your  employees.  I  berated  my 
man  for  accepting  goods  in  that  condition  and 
he  stated  to  me  how  all  of  it  was  done.  I  am 
now  here  to  see  what  can  be  done  about  it.  I 
have  never  done  you  any  injury  to  be  treated  in 
that  manner.  He  said,  Mr.  Hermann,  I  am  sorry 
it  happened.  I  will  see  that  it  will  not  be  done 
again.  I  said,  Have  you  discharged  the  fellow 
who  did  it  ?  He  answered,  No,  not  yet.  I  said, 
Well,  I  demand  that  it  be  done  now.  And  what 
about  the  damage  I  sustained.  He  remarked 
that  the  road  would  run  to  Tennille  by  next 
Wednesday,  a  distance  of  25  miles,  and  he  woulcl 
forward  my  two  car  loads  of  freight  free  of 
charge  from  Bartow  to  Tennille.  I  said  that 
was  satisfactory.  I  wanted  to  load  my  wagon ; 
he  said,  we  do  not  deliver  goods  at  night.  I  an- 


256  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

swered  that  if  he  had  been  at  his  post  of  duty  on 
my  arrival  I  would  have  had  plenty  of  time  to 
load  and  be  on  my  way  back,  and  I  wished  to 
load  up  at  once  for  the  morrow  being  Sunday  I 
did  not  want  -to  be  on  the  road.  He  delivered 
the  merchandise  and  Perry  and  I  passed  Sun- 
day with  my  friend  B.  Gr.  Smith,  who  was  glad 
matters  passed  off  as  they  did.  Monday  morn- 
ing we  took  an  early  start  and  by  twelve  o  'clock 
I  was  at  home.  That  was  my  last  trip  as  a  wag- 
oner, but  not  as  a  soldier,  as  the  sequel  will 
show. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

When  the  commanding  officers  of  the  Confed- 
erate army  surrendered  and  stacked  arms  the 
rank  and  file  expected  that  the  terms  of  the  car- 
tel promulgated  and  agreed  upon  would  be  car- 
ried out  to  the  letter.  The  men  laid  down  their 
arms  in  good  faith,  feeling  as  General  E.  E. 
Lee  remarked  in  his  farewell  address  to  them, 
that  under  present  unequal  condition  it  would 
only  be  a  waste  of  precious  lives  to  continue  the 
struggle.  The  following  were  the  terms  of  the 
agreement  entered  into  between  General  Grant 
and  General  Lee:  The  officers  and  men  to  re- 
turn to  their  homes  and  remain  there  until  ex- 
changed and  not  to  be  disturbed  by  the  United 
States  authorities  so  long  as  they  observe  their 
paroles  and  the  laws  in  force  in  their  respective 
states. 

But  the  fellows  who  directed  the  ship  of 
state  and  who  were  invisible  on  the  firing  line 
became  invincible,  when  the  South  lay  pros- 
trated. The  first  order  was  from  Secretary 
Staunton,  for  the  arrest  of  our  commanding  of- 
ficers. This  order,  however,  was  resented  by 
General  Grant  as  contrary  to  the  cartel  and 


258  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

should  not  be  executed.  This  caused  a  rupture 
between  the  two  and  the  order  was  finally  re- 
scinded. The  next  step  was  to  disperse  all  State 
authority  and  appoint  a  military  Governor. 
General  Wilson  acted  in  that  capacity  in  Geor- 
gia. The  same  year,  1865,  negroes  were  pro- 
claimed free  and  military  garrisons  established 
in  every  town,  city  or  village  throughout  the 
South.  Under  the  superintendence  of  those 
militaries  the  Freedmen's  Bureau  was  estab- 
lished, forcing  negroes  to  migrate  from  one 
place  to  another,  thus  breaking  up  the  good  re- 
lationship still  existing  between  Masters  and 
servants.  The  bureau  was  seemingly  gotten  up 
for  the  protection  of  the  blacks,  as  if  they  needed 
any  protection,  they  to  whom  we  owed  so  much 
for  their  good  behavior  during  the  time  when 
every  available  man  able  to  bear  arms  was  at 
the  front,  leaving  their  families  in  charge  of  the 
negroes.  The  gratitude  of  our  people  was  or 
ought  to  have  been  sufficient  guarantee  in  that 
line.  Such  harmonious  condition  did  not  suit 
the  powers  that  be,  there  was  venom  in  their 
heart  for  revenge,  and  punitive  measures  were 
concocted.  Never  were  captives  bound  tighter 
than  the  people  of  the  South.  Is  it  a  wonder 
that  the  men  of  the  South  became  desperate  and 
used  desperate  remedies  to  oust  more  desperate 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  259 

diseases?  The  carpet  baggers  made  their  exit. 
The  negroes'  mind  had  been  prejudiced  under 
the  auspices  of  those  vultures.  They  were  forced 
into  societies,  one  of  which  was  the  Rising  Sun. 
Some  called  it  The  Rising  Sons.  God  only 
knows  what  ultimate  result  they  expected  to  ob- 
tain. Drums  and  fifes  were  heard  in  every  di- 
rection at  night  times.  The  woods  were  full  of 
rumors  that  the  negroes  are  rising.  Men  in 
towns  made  ready  for  emergencies,  every  one  on 
his  own  hook;  no  organization  for  defense,  in 
case  harsher  measures  should  be  needed.  When 
the  author  of  this  sketch  took  up  the  idea  of  a  re- 
union of  his  comrades  and  inserted  a  call  in  the 
county's  weekly,  calling  on  the  members  of 
Ho  well's  Battery  for  a  social  reunion,  their 
wives  and  children,  when  other  veterans  sug- 
gested why  not  make  it  a  reunion  for  all  the  vet- 
erans of  the  County.  I  was  only  too  glad  for 
the  suggestion  and  changed  the  call  to  include 
all  veterans  of  the  county,  and  on  the  day  speci- 
fied there  was  the  greatest  reunion  Washington 
County  ever  had.  It  was  estimated  that  eight 
thousand  people  participated.  There  were  over 
one  hundred  carcasses  besides  thousands  of  bas- 
kets filled  to  overflow  with  eatables  and  delica- 
cies. The  object  of  the  meeting  was  stated  to 
form  an  artillery  company  as  a  nucleus  or  ral- 


260  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

lying  head  and  to  meet  organization  with  organ- 
ization not  as  a  measure  of  aggression  but  as 
a  protection.  The  author  was  elected  Captain. 
Under  his  supervision  he  built  an  armory  and 
eventually  the  State  furnished  him  with  two 
pieces  of  artillery.  The  day  he  received  the 
guns  he  had  a  salute  fired.  The  boys  in  the  rural 
districts  had  not  forgotten  the  sound  of  artillery 
and  the  town  was  filled  with  enthusiasm.  Some 
of  the  negro  leaders  called  on  me  to  know  what 
all  that  means,  I  told  them  it  was  to  teach  their 
misguided  people  that  we  can  play  at  the  same 
game  and  if  they  don 't  stop  beating  their  drums 
and  blowing  fifes  in  the  night  time  when  honest 
people  are  at  rest  I  would  shell  the  woods.  This 
admonition  had  a  splendid  effect  and  the  people 
of  Washington  have  lived  in  peace  ever  since. 
The  author  resigned  his  commission  in  the  year 
1881,  when  Honorable  Alex  Stephens  was  Gov- 
ernor of  Georgia.  And  Washington  County  has 
the  honor  of  having  inaugurated  the  first  re- 
union of  Confederate  veterans.  The  citizens  of 
Washington  County  and  Howell's  Battery  pre- 
sented the  author  with  a  gold  headed  ebony 
cane,  beautifully  carved,  as  a  memorial  and 
their  regard  for  him  as  a  citizen  as  a  soldier. 
Being  taken  by  surprise  I  had  to  submit  to  the 
caning. 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  261 

The  South  passed  seemingly  through  the 
chamber  of  horrors  of  the  Spanish  Inquisition 
and  punishments  administered  by  degrees. 
First  robbing  the  owners  of  their  slaves,  of  their 
justly  acquired  property,  after  they,  (the 
North),  received  from  the  Southern  farmer  its 
full  equivalent  in  U.  S.  money.  Second,  in  the 
promulgation  of  the  Civil  Rights  Bill,  in  April, 
1866.  Third,  in  forcing  the  Southern  people  to 
accept  the  14th  and  15th  amendment  to  the  Fed- 
eral Constitution,  not  as  a  war  measure,  as. 
Abraham  Lincoln  claimed,  when  issuing  his 
proclamation  to  free  the  negroes,  but  as  politi- 
cal measures  >to  perpetuate  themselves  in  power. 

Georgia,  Alabama,  Arkansas,  Louisiana, 
South  Carolina  and  North  Carolina  refused  to 
accept  those  conditions  and  in  consequence  were 
not  admitted  into  the  Union  until  1868,  although 
paying  enormous  taxes  without  representation, 
and  finally  had  to  submit  in  self  defence.  Vir- 
ginia, Texas  and  Mississippi  held  out  until  1870 
before  they  succumbed  to  the  thumb  screw. 


CHAPTER  XXXX. 

In  writing  the  foregoing  reminiscences  I 
came  near  omitting  an  incident  that  unless  in- 
serted would  make  them  incomplete.  In  1868  I 
went  to  New  York,  via.  Charlotte,  North  Caro- 
lina. It  was  a  long  journey  by  rail,  on  account 
of  many  disconnections  and  lay  overs.  On  ar- 
riving at  Greenville  the  South  Carolina  Legisla- 
tors had  adjourned  in  Columbia  and  boarded  the 
train  enroute  for  Washington,  D.  C.  to  see  Gen- 
eral Grant  inaugurated  as  President  of  the  U. 
S.  The  body  at  that  time  was  composed  of  a 
mongrel  set  of  coal  black  negroes,  mulattoes  and 
carpet  baggers.  Cartoosa,  a  mulatto,  was  then 
Treasurer  of  the  State.  A  negro  named  Miller 
was  General  in  chief  of  the  S.  C.  militia  of  State 
troops.  They  came  prepared  to  have  a  regular 
holiday.'  They  carried  large  willow  baskets  full 
of  the  best  provisions  and  champagne  by  the 
quantity,  all  at  the  expense  of  the  State  of  South 
Carolina.  On  arriving  at  Aqua  Creek,  which 
was  about  5  o'clock  p.  m.,  we  took  the  boat  up 
the  Potomac  and  were  furnished  with  dinner. 
When  the  bell  rang,  one  of  the  South  Carolina 
Legislators,  a  coal  black  negro,  took  his  seat  at 
the  table  when  one  of  the  waiters,  also  a  negro, 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  263 

whispered  in  his  ear.  He  replied  in  a  very  bois- 
terous manner  that  his  money  was  as  good  as 
any  white  man's.  The  waiter  reported  to  the 
Purser,  who  took  the  would  be  gentleman  by 
putting  two  fingers  in  his  collar,  lifted  him  up 
and  gave  him  a  kick  that  sent  him  reeling  into 
the  engine  room.  The  white  carpet  baggers 
seemed  not  to  have  noticed  this  little  side  show. 
However  the  black  brute  continued  his  boister- 
ous remarks  and  abusing  the  white  race,  and 
that  he,  a  South  Carolina  representative  had  his 
dignity  grossly  insulted  and  that  he  was  going 
to  report  the  incident  to  General  Grant  on  arri- 
val. When  an  old  gentleman  who  must  have 
been  between  65  and  70  years  of  age  could  not 
stand  his  abuse  any  longer,  although  the  balance 
of  the  passengers  were  amused  at  his  discom- 
fiture took  a  pistol  from  his  coat  side  pocket, 
shoved  it  near  the  negro's  face  and  remarked, 
I  stood  that  abuse  as  long  as  I  intend  to;  one 
more  word  and  I'll  send  you  to  hell  where  you 
belong,  you  black  brute.  The  representative, 
seeing  that  this  man  meant  what  he  said,  kept 
mum.  The  South  Carolina  delegation  undoubt- 
edly made  a  report  at  headquarters  of  the  above 
incident,  for  in  the  winding  up  of  President 
Grant's  inaugural  address  he  expressed  the  fol- 
lowing sentiments:  That  he  hoped  that  white 


264  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

and  black  races  would  conform  to  the  situation 
and  that  by  mutual  good  conduct  would  main- 
tain the  peace  and  harmony  so  necessary  for 
both  races,  or  words  to  that  effect. 

Arriving  in  New  York  I  took  in  the  City.  It 
was  my  first  trip  there  since  I  had  landed  at 
Castle  Garden  from  the  four  masted  schooner, 
The  Geneese,  nearly  ten  years  previous.  I  vis- 
ited the  large  firm  and  emporium  of  H.  B.  Claf- 
lin  &  Company  and  spoke  to  Mr.  Bancroft.  I 
gave  him  a  statement  of  my  commercial  stand- 
ing, such  as  it  was,  and  asked  for  his  advice,  as 
it  was  my  first  attempt  as  a  dry  goods  mer- 
chant. My  means  being  very  limited  I  wanted 
to  make  them  reach  as  far  as  possible.  He 
treated  me  very  courteously  and  furnished  me 
with  a  salesman,  whom  he  introduced  as  Mr. 
McClucklan.  On  our  way  to  the  basement  he 

asked  me,  What  State?    I  said  Georgia.    D n 

Georgia.  I  stopped  at  once,  looking  him 
squarely  in  the  face  I  said,  You  can't  sell  me  any 
goods,  I  am  going  for  some  one  not  prejudiced 
against  my  State,  and  started  back,  when  he  ex- 
claimed, Hold  on,  you  misconstrue  me;  I  have 
been  a  prisoner  at  Andersonville  and  I  hate  the 
name  of  Georgia.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that 
there  are  no  good  people  in  Georgia,  like  every- 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  265 

where  else.  Noting  a  keystone  that  I  wore  on 
my  watch  chain  he  said,  I  see  you  are  a  Mason  1 
So  am  I,  displaying  a  square  and  compass 
pinned  on  the  lapel  of  his  coat.  We  can  talk 
together  said  he.  If  it  had  not  been  for  a  brother 
Mason  I  don't  think  I'd  be  here  today,  I  think 
I  would  have  died  of  starvation.  He  told  me  of 
his  transit  from  Andersonville  to  the  Coast. 
When  the  train  stopped  at  a  country  station,  the 
name  of  which  he  did  not  know  but  he  knew  if 
was  on  the  Central  railroad,  he  gave  the  words 
of  distress.  It  was  a  dark  night,  he  could  hardly 
have  expected  anybody  to  answer  it,  but  some- 
one did  and  before  the  train  left  some  one 
brought  him  enough  fried  ham  and  biscuit  to 
last  him  several  days.  So  I  said,  It  was  wrap- 
ped in  a  home  made  napkin  with  blue  borders. 
He  looked  at  me  with  astonishment,  saying,  So 
it  was;  what  do  you  know  about  it.  I  said, 
I  am  the  fellow,  and  told  him  what  I  did  and 
that  Mrs.  Hardwick  commended  me  for  it  and 
would  not  take  any  pay  and  that  the  station  was 
Davisboro.  The  man  was  beside  himself.  He 
hugged  me,  tears  ran  down  his  cheeks ;  he  acted 
like  a  crazy  fellow.  He  said,  You  can't  buy  any 
goods  today,  you  are  my  guest.  He  ran  to  Mr. 
Bancroft  to  get  excused,  saying  that  I  was  an 
old  friend  and  that  he  wanted  to  get  off  that 


266  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

day.  He  hired  an  open  carriage  and  we  drove 
over  the  whole  city,  showing  me  everything 
worth  seeing.  He  carried  me  around  to  a  fine 
restaurant  and  ordered  an  elaborate  dinner, 
spent  his  money  with  the  most  lavish  hand,  re- 
gardless of  my  protestations,  for  he  would  not 
let  me  spend  a  copper.  The  following  day  I 
made  my  purchases.  It  is  useless  to  say  that  he 
dealt  squarely  with  me  and  with  his  advice  and 
experience  I  made  what  small  capital  I  had  pur- 
chase me  a  very  decent  stock  of  merchandise. 


CHAPTER  XXXXI. 

Again  when  President  Lincoln  in  1863  issued 
his  edict  to  the  Commanding  Generals  in  their- 
respective  territory  to  proclaim  all  the  negroes 
free,  as  a  war  measure,  as  he  claimed,  he  at- 
tempted on  a  large  scale  what  John  Brown 
failed  to  make  a  success  of  on  a  small  scale, 
namely  to  create  a  servile  insurrection,  and  thus 
exposing  the  helpless  and  defenceless  to  the  ra- 
pacity of  semi-savage  hordes.  But  it  failed,  as 
all  other  attempts  in  that  line  have  failed,  thus 
again  proving  the  good  relationship  existing  be- 
tween the  masters  and  their  servants.  Compare 
the  situation  now  with  that  of  the  anti-bel- 
lum  days.  When  a  white  emissary  from  the 
North  hired  a  horse  and  buggy  from  the  propri- 
etor of  the  hotel  in  Sandersville,  Washington 
County,  Georgia,  and  left  with  the  same  for 
parts  unknown,  he  was  finally  located  in  Flor- 
ida and  captured  and  brought  back  and  put  in 
jail.  The  lock  of  the  jail  was  so  rusted  for  the 
want  of  use  that  it  took  the  assistance  of  a  lock- 
smith to  open  the  door  to  let  him  in.  How  is 
it  now?  A  commodious  building  has  had  to  be 
erected  to  accommodate  the  masses  who  trample 
under  foot  the  laws  of  their  country;  the  jails. 


268  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

and  chaingangs  are  full  to  overflowing,  with  the 
perpetrators  of  crimes.  Those  are  the  results 
of  the  so  called  reconstructionists.  Lynching 
was  an  unknown  quantity  in  those  days;  there 
was  no  necessity  for  it.  The  laws  of  the  country 
were  administered,  justly  and  loyally.  Courts 
met  at  regular  periods  and  often  adjourned  the 
same  day  for  the  want  of  patronage.  Some  say 
we  are  progressing.  That  is  true,  but  in  the 
wrong  direction.  Retrogressing  is  the  proper 
word  to  apply,  especially  in  morality. 


CHAPTER  XXXXII. 

Another  illustration  worthy  of  mention  in 
connection  with  the  others  is  related  here.  A 
friend  of  mine  named  John  J.  Jordan,  wounded 
at  Vicksburg,  Miss.,  one  of  the  cleverest  and 
inoffensive  beings,  owned  several  slaves  by  her- 
itage. Among  them  was  one  John  Foster,  a  mu- 
latto. He  was  an  accomplished  carpenter  and 
very  active.  His  master  gave  him  his  own  time 
and  he  was  comparatively  free  all  his  life,  he 
was  devoted  to  the  Jordan  family  and  was  a 
very  responsible  negro,  however,  his  newly 
made  friends  the  carpet  baggers  filled  his  brains 
with  such  illusions  that  he  became  a  leader 
among  the  negroes,  making  speeches  and  made 
himself  very  obnoxious  to  those  who  were  his 
friends  from  infancy.  All  at  once  Foster  disap- 
peared. He  was  gone  a  couple  of  years  when 
his  former  master  received  a  letter  from  him, 
dated  New  York,  begging  assistance  to  enable 
him  to  return  to  Washington  County.  Not- 
withstanding his  master's  impoverished  "condi- 
tion, the  money  was  sent  him  and  Foster  came 
back  entirely  reformed.  He  had  no  more  use 
for  the  Yankees,  his  short  stay  among  them 
cured  him.  What  a  pity  the  authoress  of  Un- 


270  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

cle  Tom's  Cabin  did  not  take  John  Foster  under 
her  protecting  wings.  What  a  lost  opportunity ! 
What  a  fine  additional  illustration  that  picture 
would  have  made  to  her  already  fertile  imagi- 
nation as  the  sequel  will  show. 

One  day  John  Foster  came  to  my  house  to 
see  me.  Good  day,  Marse  Ike,  said  he,  I 
thought  I'll  come  to  see  you  it  has  been  a  long 
time  since  I  sawn  you,  and  the  following  conver- 
sation took  place :  Where  have  you  been  John  f 
I've  been  to  New  York.  How  do  you  like  New 
York?  I  don't  like  it  at  all,  let  me  tell  you  Mass 
Ike,  those  Yankees  are  no  friends  of  the  negroes. 
Well  John  I  could  have  told  you  so  before  you 
went.  Mass  Ike,  let  me  tell  you  what  they've 
done.  They  told  me  I  could  make  a  fortune  in 
the  North,  that  I  could  get  four  and  five  dollars 
&  day  by  my  trade  as  a  carpenter.  Who  told 
you  so?  Why  John  E.  Bryant  and  his  like  of 
carpet  baggers.  Well  did  you  not  get  it?  I  got 
it  in  the  neck,  I  tell  you  what  they  did.  I  left 
here  with  right  smart  money,  Marse  John  let 
me  pay  him  for  my  time  and  got  nearly  three 
hundred  dollars  that  I  saved.  I  went  to  New 
York,  and  after  looking  around  the  city  for  a 
few  days  I  couimenced  hunting  work,  but  where- 
ever  I  went  they  shook  their  heads,  for  no.  I 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  271 

spent  the  whole  winter  there  without  striking  a 
lick  until  I  spent  all  my  money.  I  finally  applied 
at  a  shop  where  a  dutchman  was  foreman,  I  was 
willing  to  work  at  any  price  for  I  had  to  live  but 
do  you  know  what  they  did?  No  John,  I  don't. 
Well  they  every  one  of  them,  and  they  worked 
twenty-five  hands,  laid  down  their  tools  and 
walked  out  of  the  shop  declaring  that  they 
would  not  work  by  the  side  of  any  damned  ne- 
gro, and  the  boss  had  to  discharge  me.  No, 
Marse  Ike,  the  Yankees  are  no  friends  to  we 
colored  people,  only  for  what  they  can  cheat  us 
out  of.  I  worked  all  my  life  among  white  folks 
here  at  home  and  it  made  no  difference,  I  tell 
you  Marse  Ike,  the  people  of  the  South  are  the 
negroes  friends.  Well  John,  you  did  not  say  so 
before  you  left  here.  No,  I  did  not  appreciate 
what  the  people  here  done  for  me  until  I  went 
North.  Well,  John,  you  ought  to  go  among  your 
people  and  disabuse  their  minds  and  tell  them 
what  you  know  from  personal  experience.  I 
am  doing  that  Marse  Ike  every  day.  I  have  not 
long  to  stay  here  below,  I  have  contracted  con- 
sumption from  exposure  and  am  hardly  able  to 
do  a  day's  work.  I  am  taking  little  jobs  now  and 
then.  Well  John,  if  you  stand  in  need  of  any- 


272  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

thing  come  to  see  me.  You  will  always  find 
something  to  eat  here  and  some  clothes  to  wear~ 
John  died  six  months  later. 


CHAPTER  XXXXIII. 

Before  concluding  these  reminiscences  I  take 
pleasure  however  in  stating  that  Capt.  Howell 
and  myself  met  after  the  surrender  and  after  a 
thorough  understanding  agreed  that  honors 
were  easy  and  by  mutual  consent  to  bury  the 
hatchet  and  eventually  became  warm  friends.  A 
little  incident,  however,  is  worth  relating  here. 
I  was  a  delegate  to  a  Governatorial  Convention 
from  Washington  County.  Capt.  Howell  also 
was  a  delegate  from  Fulton  County,  the  vote 
was  very  close.  We  were  each  for  the  opposing 
candidate,  the  convention  lasted  for  several  days 
and  could  not  agree.  Capt.  Howell  came  to  see 
me,  stating  that  he  was  a  committee  of  one  ap- 
pointed by  the  caucus  to  come  to  see  me  and  in- 
fluence me  to  change  my  vote  and  vote  for  their 
candidate.  I  said  "Capt.  what  did  you  tell 
them"?  He  said,  "I  said  I  doubt  very  much 
that  my  influence  would  have  any  effect,  darn 
him  I  could  not  do  anything  with  him  when  I 
had  the  power  to  control  him  and  I  am  satisfied 
that  my  mission  will  be  in  vain."  I  said,  "you 
spoke  well,  Captain,  go  back  and  report  failure. 


274  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

CONCLUSION. 

I  would  be  derelict  in  my  duty  and  the  gratitude 
I  feel  towards  the  noble  women  of  the  South 
who  shared  the  brunt  of  misery  while  their  loved 
ones  were  at  the  front  suffering  the  hardship 
and  rigors  of  camp  life,  and  were  fighting  the 
battles  for  what  they  deemed  their  most  sacred 
duty.  With  aching  heart  and  burning  tears  she 
bade  her  dear  ones  God  speed  and  a  safe  return, 
shouldering  all  the  responsibilities  of  providing 
for  those  who  were  left  behind  'and  not  able 
to  provide  for  themselves.  Did  they  stop  at 
that  f  Many  delicacies  and  garments  were  sent 
to  the  front  by  them  to  cheer  those  in  the  field. 
They  organized  wayside  homes  for  those  sol- 
diers who  were  in  transit.  They  visited  the 
hospitals  and  administered  to  the  sick  and 
wounded.  They  organized  the  ladies  relief  as- 
sociation and  in  every  way  imaginable  added  to 
the  comfort  of  those  who  shared  the  brunt  of 
battle.  The  Confederate  veterans  felt  grateful 
to  their  wives,  daughters  and  kinswomen  who 
banded  themselves  together  under  the  name  of 
U.  D.  C.  They  have  proclaimed  in  songs  and 
stories  the  righteousness  of  the  Confederate 
cause  and  even  at  late  date  forced  our  adversa- 
ries to  admit  that  the  cause  we  fought  for  was 


WAS  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  275 

right  and  the  Courts  so  hold  it.  Would  it  be 
too  much  to  ask  the  United  Confederate  Veter- 
ans to  see  that  enduring  monuments  of  imper- 
ishable material  be  erected  in  the  capital  of  ev- 
ery Southern  State  to  perpetuate  the  memory 
and  the  fidelity  of  those  noble  heroines  ? 

Sparta  heroism  was  tame  indeed  in  compar- 
ison with  that  of  Southern  women,  especially 
those  who  were  left  in  the  wake  of  the  invading 
armies  amidst  the  ruins  of  a  once  happy  home. 
It  is  a  half  a  century  that  has  elapsed  since  the 
thunder  of  Fort  Sumter  shook  this  hemisphere. 
New  generations  have  appeared  on  the  scene, 
fraternization  is  progressing  slowly,  but  surely, 
the  past  is  relegated  gradually  to  the  rear  and 
the  States  again  assert  their  rights,  as  they  see 
it.  Therefore  it  behooves  the  National  admin- 
istration to  see  to  it  that  equal  rights  to  all  and 
special  privileges  to  none,  is  its  duty  to  enforce 
so  as  to  maintain  this  nation  the  greatest  nation 
on  the  globe.  The  sections  must  get  together 
and  look  to  the  wants  and  needs  of  their  asso- 
ciates and  as  far  as  lies  in  their  power  assist  in 
bringing  relief.  Thus  past  differences  will  van- 
ish and  brotherly  love  will  again  prevail  and  this 
United  States  of  America  will  forever  be  united 
to  stand  in  bold  relief  the  model  government 
in  the  world. 


APPENDIX  A. 

LIST  OF  OFFICERS  OF  THE  WASHINGTON  RIFLES. 

Capt.,  S.  A.  H.  Jones. 
1st  Lt.,  J.  W.  Budisill. 
2nd  Lt.,  B.  D.  Evans. 
3rd  Lt.,  W.  W.  Carter. 
Ensign,  C.  M.  Jones. 
1st  Sergt.,  E.  P.  Howell. 
2nd  Sergt.,  G.  W.  Warthen. 
3rd  Sergt.,  J.  M.  G.  Medlock. 
4th  Sergt.,  A.  D.  Jernigan. 
5th  Sergt.,  P.  E.  Taliaferro. 
1st  Corpl.,  W.  J.  Gray. 
2nd  Corpl.,  A.  T.  Sessions. 
3rd  Corpl.,  W.  H.  Eenfroe. 
4th  Corpl.,  John  K.  Wicker. 
Color  Bearer,  J.  T.  Youngblood. 
Surgeon,  B.  F.  Rudisill. 

LIST  OF  PEIVATES. 

Allen,  G.  E.  Arnaw,  James 

Bailey,  J.  W.  Boatright,  B.  S. 

Barnes,  A.  S.  Barnes,  M.  A. 

Barwick,  W.  B.  Brantley,  J.  E. 


WAS  BETWEEN  THE  STATES 


277 


Brown,  Jos.  M. 
Curry,  David 
Curry,  J.  S. 
Cullen,  S.  E. 
Cullen,,  E.  W. 
Clay,  W.  S. 
Cason,  W. 
Dudley,  J.  A.  Q. 
Durden,  M. 
Fulford,  T.  B. 
Flucker,  M.  B. 
Grimes,  W.  B. 
Gilmore,  T.  J. 
Gilmore,  E. 
Gaskin,  J. 
Haines,  C.  E. 
Hines,  W.  H. 
Bines,  S. 
Hicklin,  A.  F. 
Hermann,  I. 
Jordan,  N.  J. 
Jordan,  J.  J. 
Jones,  S.  B. 
King,  Jas.  R. 
Knight,  W.  G. 
Knight,  W.  K. 
Lay  ton,  J.  H. 
Lewis,  W.  H. 
McCroon,  J.  J. 
Morgan,  John  H. 
Matthews,  W.  C. 
McDonal,  J.  J. 


Collier,  Ed. 
Curry,  S.  K. 
Curry,  J.  H. 
Cullen,  W.  A. 
Commings,  G.  E. 
Cason,  G. 
Cook,  A.  T. 
Dudley,  W.  H. 
Fulghum,  J.  H. 
Fulford,  S. 
Gray,  W.  B. 
Gilmore,  J.  N. 
Gilmore,  S.  M. 
Godown,  James 
Haines,  S.  S. 
Haynes,  T.  H. 
Hines,  A.  C. 
Hines,  B. 
Hicklin,  W.  P. 
Honard,  W. 
Jordan,  J.  T;. 
Jones,  W.  H. 
Kinman,  W.  H. 
Kitrell,  G. 
Kelley,  G.  W. 
Lamb,  I. 
Lawson,  W.  H. 
Lewis,  "W.  B. 
Medlock,  E. 
Mason,  G.  L. 
Massey,  S.  N. 
McDonald,  A. 


278 


MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 


Newsome,  J.  J. 
Orr,  T.  A. 
Parnell,  B.  J. 
Roberts,  J.  B. 
Roberson,  W.  G-. 
Robison,  R.  T. 
Rodgers,  L. 
Rawlings,  C. 
Renfroe,  J. 
Scarboro,  A.  M. 
Smith,  J.  C. 
Smith,  J.  H. 
Smith,  John  H. 
Solomon,  H. 
Spillars,  J. 
Trawick,  A.  J. 
Tyson,  T.  L. 
Tax-button,  G.  A. 
Veal,  R.  H. 
Whiddon,  B. 
Warthen,  T.  J.  W. 
Wall,  W.  A. 
Wagoner,  W.  H. 
Wicker,  T.  0. 


Newsome,  J.  K. 
Peacock,  Gr.  W. 
Pittman,  W.  H. 
Parker,  W.  J. 
Roberson,  J.  A. 
Robison,  W.  R. 
Riddle,  A.  M. 
Rawlings,  W.  H. 
Stanley,  J.  S. 
Stubbs,  J.  N. 
Smith,  J.  P. 
Smith,  W.  H. 
Slate,  S.  L. 
Sheppard,  J.  J. 
Tarver,  F.  R. 
Trawick,  J.  T. 
Tookes,  C.  C. 
Turner,  N.  H. 
Whitaker,  G.  W.  II. 
Whiddon,  M.  M. 
Wall,  C.  A. 
Waitzfelder,  E. 
Wessolonsky,  A. 
Watkins,  W.  E. 


APPENDIX  B. 

The  Newnan  Guards,  A. — Capt.  Geo.  M. 
Harvey. 

The  Columbus  Guards,  B.— Capt.  F.  G. 
Wilkins. 

The  Southern  Eights  Guards,  C. — Capt.  J. 
A.  Hauser. 

The  Oglethorpe  Light  Infantry,  D.— Capt.  J. 
O.  Clark. 

The  Washington  Rifles,  E.— Capt.  S.  A.  H. 
Jones. 

The  Gate  City  Guards,  F.— Capt.  W.  F.  Ez~ 
zard. 

The  Bainbridge  Independents,  G. — Capt.  J. 
W.  Evans. 

The  Dahlonega  Vols.,  H.— Capt.  Alfred  Har- 
ris. 

The  Walker  Light  Infantry,  I.— Capt.  S.  H. 
Crump. 

The  Quitman  Guards,  J. — Capt.  Jas.  S. 
Pinkard. 

J.  N.  Ramsey  of  Columbus,  Ga.,  was  elected 
Colonel. 


APPENDIX  C. 

1st.  Lt.  John  W.  Rudisill  became  Capt.  of 
Compy.  C.  12  Ga.  Battalion. 

2nd.  Lt.  Beverly  D.  Evans  became  Col.  2nd. 
Ga.  State  troops. 

3rd.  Lt.  W.  W.  Carter  became  Capt.  Compy. 
G.  49  Ga.  regiment. 

Ensign  C.  M.  Jones  became  Capt.  Compy. 
H.  49  Ga.  Eegiment. 

1st.  Sergt.  E.  P.  Howell  became  Capt.  of 
Martins  Battery. 

4th.   Sergt.  A.   D.   Jernigan  became   Capt. 
Compy.  H.  49  Ga.  Regiment. 

5th.  Sergt.  P.  R.  Taliaferro  became  Capt, 
Compy.  E.  32nd.  Ga.  Regiment. 

1st.  Corporal  W.  J.  Gray  became  1st.  Lieut. 
Sandersville  Artillery. 

2nd.   Corp.  A.   T.   Sessions   became  Lieut. 
Compy.  B.  12  Ga.  Batalion. 

3rd.  Corp.  W.  H.  Renfroe  became  Lieut. 

4th.  Corp.  J.  R.  Wicker  became  Lt.  32  Ga. 

Private  G.  R.  Allen  became  Lt.  57  Ga. 

Private  James  Arnau  became  Lt.  49th  Geor- 
gia. 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  281 

Private  B.  S.  Boatright  became  Lt.  12th 
Georgia  Bat. 

Private  James  M.  Brown  became  Lt.  5th 
Georgia  Eeserve. 

Private  M.  R.  Flucker  became  Orderly 
Sergt.  12th  Georgia. 

Private  T.  J.  Gilmore  became  Lieut.  Mar- 
tins Battery. 

Private  Wesley  Howard  became  Corp.  Mar- 
tins Battery. 

Private  J.  T.  Jordan  became  Col.  49th  Geor- 
gia Eegiment. 

Private  W.  H.  Jones  became  Lt.  32nd  Geor- 
gia Regiment. 

Private  S.  B.  Jones  became  Capt.  8th  Geor- 
gia Cavalry. 

Private  James  B.  Kinman  became  Lieut. 
Company  B.  12th  Georgia  Bat. 

Private  W.  G.  Knight  became  Sergt.  Com- 
pany B.  12th  Georgia  Bat. 

Private  Isaac  Lamb  became  Lt.  53rd  Geor- 
gia. 

Private  W.  H.  Lawson  became  Capt.  5th 
Georgia  Reserve. 

Private  W.  C.  Matthews  became  Capt.  38th 
Georgia  Regiment. 

Private  J.  J.  Newsome  became  Capt.  Com- 
pany E.  12th  Georgia  Bat. 


282  MEMOIRS  OF  A  VETERAN 

Private  Geo.  W.  Peacock  became  Lt.  12th 
Georgia  Bat. 

Private  J.  B.  Roberts  became  Capt.  Com- 
pany D.  49th  Ga.  Regiment. 

Private  W.  J.  Parker  became  Capt.  Cobbs 
Legiose. 

Private  W.  G.  Robson  became  Lt.  Martins 
Battery. 

Private  J.  A.  Robson  became  Sergt.  Com- 
pany B.  12th  Ga.  Bat. 

Private  H.  T.  Robson  became  Sergt.  12th 
Georgia  Bat. 

Private  J.  N.  Stubbs  became  Sergt.  12th 
Georgia  Bat. 

Private  J.  C.  Smith  became  Lt.  12th  Geor- 
gia Bat. 

Private  H.  Soloman  became  Capt.  14th 
Georgia  Regiment. 

Private  G.  A.  Tarbutton  became  Capt.  Hil- 
lards  Legion. 

Private  G.  W.  H.  Whitaker  became  Capt. 
12th  Ga.  Batt. 

Private  Benj.  Whiddon  became  Capt.  5th 
Georgia  Reserve. 

Private  T.  0.  Wicker  became  Adgt.  28th 
Georgia  Regiment. 

Private  W.  E.  Watkins  became  Sergt.  Com- 
pany B.  12th  Georgia  Bat. 


APPENDIX  D. 

« 

Robert  Martin,  known  as  Bob  Martin,  from 
Barnwell,  S.  C.,  was  elected  Captain. 

Evan  P.  Howell,  1st  Lt. 
W.  G.  Eobson,  2nd  Lt. 
Reuben  A.  Bland,  3rd  Lt. 
H.  K.  Newsome,  1st  Sergt. 
S.  J.  Fulfonn,  2nd  Sergt. 
W.  H.  Hines,  3rd  Sergt. 
J.  B.  Warthen,  4th  Sergt. 
W.  H.  Dudley,  5th  Sergt. 
W.  M.  Cox,  6th  Sergt. 
Haywood  Ainsworth,  7th  Sergt. 
W.  B.  Hall,  1st  Corp. 
W.  B.  O'Quinn,  2nd  Corp. 
W.  F.  Webster,  3rd  Corp. 
J.  E.  Cullin,  4th  Corp. 

! 

PRIVATES. 

r 

H.  Allen  A.  C.  Hines 

J.  F.  Bailey  J.  D.  Hardy 

J.  F.  Brooks  Gabe  Kittrell 

W.  A.  Brown  J.  E.  Johnson 

B.  L.  Bynum  A.  R.  Lord 


284 


MEMOIBS  OF  A  VETERAN 


W.  T.  C.  Barnwell 
M.  B.  Cox 
E.  W.  Cullen 
J.  Curry 
R.  Dixon 
E.  E.  Caudell 
W.  E.  Doolittle 
J.  E.  Ellis 
Geo.  T.  Franklin 
E.  T.  Ford 
S.  M.  Gilmore 
J.  A.  Godown 
W.  N.  Harmon 
Gabrill  S.  Hooks 
V.  A.  Horton 
C.  Howell 
J.  J.  Hadden 
Ben  Jones 

E.  E.  Jackson 
T.  M.  Lord 

J.  E.  Mnllen 
H.  C.  Lord 
J.  W.  Massey 
J.  J.  O'Qninn 
S.  B.  Pool 
N.  Eaifield 
Wm.  F.  Sheppard 
W.  L.  Stephens 
G.  W.  Thomas 
W.  H.  Toulson 

F.  A.  McCary 
J.  C.  Waller 


D.  G.  McCoy 
F.  M.  Loden 
J.  B.  Oxford 
J.  H.  Pittman 
H.  L.  Skelley 
J.  F.  Salter 
W.  A.  Smith 
J.  P.  Thomas 

E.  Tompkins 

D.  B.  Tanner 
J.  H.  Veal 

J.  J.  Waller 
T.  Webster 
Simeon  Bland 
J.  Armstrong 
Henry  Achord 
C.  Blizzard 
T.  J.  Brooks 
J.  J.  Braswell 
T.  M.  Barnwell 
W.  B.  Barwick 
H.  L.  Cox 
T.  C.  Cullen 

A.  Dixon 

E.  L.  Campbell 
E.  D.  Chaplen 
J.  C.  Durham 

B.  0.  Franklin 
H.  Ford 

W.  E.  Gilmore 
T.  J.  Gilmore 
W.  A.  Grimes 


WAB  BETWEEN  THE  STATES 


285 


G.  W.  Webster 
Geo.  D.  War  then 
Lawson  Taylor 
All  Armstrong 
W.  D.  Bodiford 
W.  J.  Brooks 
B.  S.  Braswell 
W.  J.  Bell 
J.  N.  Bentley 
S.  B.  Cox 
E.  W.  Cullen 
T.  A.  Curry 
J.  H.  Coleman 

D.  F.  Chambers 
T.  C.  Doolittle 

A.  E.  Erwin 
H.  Fields 

B.  Garner 

E.  T.  Gilmore 
R.  A.  Godown 
Isaac  Herman 
H.  J.  Hodges 
R.  H.  Hales 
A.  P.  Heath 


T.  J.  Hamilton 
W.  H.  Horton 
W.  C.  Howard 
L.  W.  Hines 
Red  Jones 
J.  Jackson 
F.  A.  Lockman 
John  L.  Laymade 
N.  A.  Lord 
W.  J.  Mass:ey 
W.  Oxford 

F.  Posey 

G.  B.  Rogers 

J.  F.  Sheppard 
J.  P.  Smith 
W.  C.  Thomas 
J.  F.  Tompkins 
H.  T.  Thompson 
W.  Waller 
T.  C.  Warthen 
J.  Wood 
T.  R.  Gibson 


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